Blogpost #3: Crest of the Peacock

This reading was highly interesting to me because I do not know much about the origins of mathematics and how it developed. There were quite a few things that surprised me, so here are the top three:

1. It was really interesting to me that there is such a favoured, dominant Eurocentric view when considering mathematics. Evidence actually shows that mathematics was developed between 800 and 500 BC by early Indians which they contained in the Sulbasultras. This was around the same time that the early Greek mathematics was recorded, which means that two different groups of people discovered and developed mathematics separately. In terms of history, our traditional upbringing has always been focused on a Eurocentric view. I really enjoyed that this reading challenged that norm and questioned whether or not our history was accurate. 

2. I did not know that science originated in China and India, and then was translated, refined, and distributed by Arab scholars. This was described as an Arab Renaissance of mathematics, which took place during the dark ages in Europe. It is important to note here that the Arabs played a crucial role in the spread and teachings of mathematics to Europe, which is not always acknowledged. Again, the Eurocentric view of history that we are all familiar with taints this narrative of the innovation and discovery that was actually happening among other nations. 

3. Towards the end of the chapter, the author highlights the flow of technology that originated from China in the 15th and 16th centuries. I found this particularly interesting because we still use many of these items today, such as the wheelbarrow, the crossbow, gun powder, the magnetic compass, paper and printing, and porcelain. I never knew that all of these significant items in our life were developed in China and then shared with the European world!