Author: TIMEZ5 Blog

Before democracy paved the way for autonomous agencies to further the scientific pursuits, science was entirely at the disposal of the rulers, the elite and the kingmakers or influential noblemen in various royal courts of the world. It is owing to that very reason why medieval Europe was vehemently against science. Every major scientific discovery or accomplishment was going against the teachings of the church. Since then, science has been associated with religion, although there is nothing as science of Christians or Islamic science.

 

It is noted that the ancient Indian and Egyptian civilizations dating back to almost prehistoric times were hotbeds of scientific advancements. Later, when Europe witnessed a halt of scientific progress, it was the kingdoms across the Middle East and Saharan Africa that encouraged scientific advancements. Interestingly, contemporary Islamic nations often condemn science and resort to the archaic notions that had long been clarified. Through the ninth century to the sixteenth century, Islamic science made some substantial contribution to the world. Here are just five of those biggest contributions.

 

1. One of the most notable amalgamations of science and cultures is the elephant clock. Made by al-Jazari, the elephant clock was essentially a water clock. Using a unique system of timekeeping, the clock had a bucket filled with water placed inside an elephant. The clock itself featured the elephant representing Indian culture, a dragon representing China and the water mechanism was Greek. There were wooden robots representing the Arab world and a phoenix representing Egypt.

 

2. China was making steadfast progress in science while the northern African kingdoms were experimenting with alchemy. The scientific accomplishments of India, Egypt and Persia were already well documented and that paved the way for Ibn al-Haytham who became the most noted scientist of the tenth century. He came up with an illustrated explanation of human vision. He used a camera obscura or a pinhole camera which was invented by the Chinese to explain light traveling in straight line and used it to show how human vision worked in the presence of light and in unhindered spaces.

 

3. One of the earliest accurate depictions of the world on paper or cloth was the world map of Al-Idrisi. It was used since the twelfth century and even had wide acceptance during the age of exploration or age of discovery through the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

 

4. Islamic science also made steadfast progress in ingenious devices. The Banu Musa brothers came up with a book that listed innumerable mechanical devices, from magic tricks to puzzles and even automata.

 

5. Al-Zahrawi, a surgeon based in Cordoba, came up with a plethora of surgical instruments in the tenth century which are still used today or are used as the basic design for more complicated tools. Some of the better known inventions of Al Zahrawi are forceps and syringe.

 

Looking to the future can serve to provide one with so many benefits. In addition to the fact that it’s simply good to keep up with where the world is going, particularly in terms of innovation, looking to the future also fuels our own dreams. The great trends that are changing the way we innovate in 2016 inspire us to reach for the heavens.

 

In terms of significant trends that will serve to change our present, in addition to our future, there are several things to get excited about.

 

Five Big Trends For 2016 And Beyond

If you want to get excited about the future will impact us as Islamic individuals, consider the following:

 

1. Look for the device mesh: Currently, we exchange information through things like laptops, smartphones, and tablets. However, expect this trend to evolve to extraordinary lengths for 2016 and beyond. A wider variety of endpoints will allow us to interact through wearables, augmented reality, and virtual reality.

 

2. Continuous and ambient: One significant trend that will that will serve to aid innovation for the future involves our digital interaction experiences becoming more continuous and ambient than ever before. We will be able to bring our experiences to a variety of devices and environments. No matter what, you will be able to remain the exact same entity, no matter where you might go.

 

3. 3D printing is going to become even more extraordinary: A little research on the subject of amazing 3D printing examples will yield some stunning results. People are already emphasizing innovation through 3D printing in a variety of staggering ways. Not only should you expect this to continue, but you should also expect things to develop and improve in ways you can scarcely imagine.

 

4. Machines are going to become even more adept at learning: We’re going to find that as time goes on, machines are going to become even better at understanding their surroundings. Perhaps more exciting, they are going to become even more adept at learning from those surroundings for future effort and reference.

 

5. Advanced system architecture is going to become even more advanced: As you can gather from all of the items above, the system architectures that will host all of these ideas is going to become more complex and elaborate than ever before. By the same token, potential threats and security demands for the future are going to have to rise to meet whatever we happen to come up with.

 

Islamic innovation can be found everywhere. Quite simply, were it not the inventions and ideas of Muslims and other individuals of Islamic faith/background, your daily life would be decidedly different from what it features today.

 

A game changer is naturally defined as someone who quite literally changed the game. The game can be almost anything. In a broad sense, the term can be used to refer to civilization as a whole. Countless individuals of Islamic background have fostered innovation through the years.

 

Major Islamic Game Changers

The history of Islamic innovation is a long, glorious one. It continues to this day. Chances are, as you take a look at this list of 5 game changers that you have never heard of, who impact your daily life, you’re not going to recognize a single figure. However, you will most certainly be aware of their innovations and inventions:

 

1. Al-Khwarizmi: The technological/engineering accomplishments of the United States, Europe, Africa, and other continents are significant. Without algebra, it’s difficult to imagine very much would have been accomplished at all. To that end, you can thank Al-Khwarizmi. That is the man who is responsible for inventing modern algebra. Consider the long list of things we enjoy that owe one thing or another to algebra. You’re talking about a pretty long list.

 

2. Abu al-Hasan: Do you wear glasses? How about contact lenses? If you are using either of these items, or if you have ever used a magnifying glass, then you owe a debt of gratitude to Abu al-Hasan. His discoveries regarding to the human eyes led to the invention of magnifying glasses that would later prove crucial in the invention of eyeglasses.

 

3. Abu al-Kasim: This tenth century scholar wrote about such topics as the importance of a positive relationship between doctor and patient, the importance of comprehensive medical care for individuals from all walks of life, and much more. Furthermore, he was the first individual to ever explain an ectopic pregnancy. He also created treatment options for the urethra, the ears, and the esophagus.

 

4. Amjad Farooq Alvi and Basit Farooq Alvi: As dubious an honor as it might be to invent the first PC computer virus, there’s no question that this invention was a game changer for the world of personal computers.

 

5. Abbas ibn Firnas: While many different individuals contribute to the invention of aviation, it is believed that Abbas ibn Firnas was the first to make a significant breakthrough with developing something that could conceivably work.

 

During the Vedic times in ancient India, there were revelations about the solar system that got proven more than fifteen hundred years later. There are ancient scriptures that talked about surgery at a time when Europe or even Egypt did not have any exposure to complicated medical procedures. Religion and science have more often than frequent been at loggerheads. But history has proven time and again that religion has often imposed beliefs, some of what have been proven by science.

Islam is often criticized today because of the heinous misuse of its tenets across Middle East but there was a time when Islamic science was innovative and made steadfast progress, something that the Church did not support in Europe. Here are five things that you did not know about Islamic innovation.

 

1. There was an Arab scholar by the name of Al Khwarizmi who invented algebra. He can be called the father of modern algebra which is the basis of algorithms running search engines and the foundation of engineering. Algebra did not come to Europe till the twelfth century and the Arabs had already mastered the same by then.

 

2. Very few religions in the world focus as much on personal hygiene and cleanliness as Islam. It was the tenets of Quran that lead to the first experiments with what we call toothbrush today. The earliest toothbrush was made of twigs. It is believed that the first toothbrush predates the propagation of Islam and that Prophet Mohammed used to brush his teeth with such twigs, which were called miswak.

 

3. Did you know that the guitar is not a European or American innovation? It originated in Arab and it is as old as the Middle Ages. The instrument was originally an oud, a kind of lute that had a bent neck. This instrument made its way from Andalusia to Spain where it came to be known as qitara. Later, the modern guitar was developed from this design.

 

4. The Arabs of the Middle Ages were developing their mathematical skills and understood time, explained human vision and started making progress in astronomy. It was during this time that they came up with the magnifying glass. One Abu al Hasan, also known as Alhazen, explained how human vision works and that paved the way for glasses for corrective purposes.

 

5. While Islamic innovation did not lead to surgery, it did lead to the invention of forceps and syringes among others. The invention of syringe and forceps is credited to Albucasis, also known as Abu al-Kasim.