Ibn al-haytham or Alhazen (c. 965 – c. 1040), as he was known among his Western contemporaries, was an Arab mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. Born around a thousand years ago in the city of Basra in present day Iraq, Haythem’s creative powers flourished during a period known as the Islamic Golden Age. History would indeed […]
Read More Seeing through the pinhole – Ancient Scientists- Chapter 3 – Ibn al-HaythamPythagoras’ theorem has been an equation of great significance and is well-known by everyone from school children to scientists, architects, and engineers. The first time I encountered the equation was in elementary school while learning about right angle triangles. In this equation, Pythagoras of Samos stated that in every right-angled triangle, the hypotenuse must equal […]
Read More Book Review: Fermat’s Enigma – In pursuit of a proofScience and religion share a complex history in a mutually independent relationship that has had its phases of appreciation and harmony as well as division and conflict. Among the diverse personalities of the ancient world, it is Hypatia, a female Greek philosopher, whose life most personifies the strained dynamics of these two institutions. Hypatia, born […]
Read More Ancient Scientists – Chapter 2: HypatiaThe word “science” can mean different things to different people. To the general public, it can be a callback to the white lab coats, and microscopes that complete the classic trope of a “mad scientist.” To a student, it can be an unfriendly reminder of that incomprehensible fat textbook in the corner of the room. […]
Read More Perspective: What is Science?
The Procrastinating Scientist 