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Why Does the Muslim World Lag in Science? [How hot is hell and what are jinns made of?]
Middle East Forum ^ | June 1996 | Aaron Segal

Posted on 12/28/2005 12:46:28 PM PST by SJackson

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To: SJackson

Sex crazed, drugged out, hate filled brainwashed zombie butchers do not make for good science or the arts.


41 posted on 12/28/2005 1:45:20 PM PST by tkathy (Ban the headscarf (http://bloodlesslinchpinsofislamicterrorism.blogspot.com))
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Comment #42 Removed by Moderator

To: KC_Conspirator

They also do not take into account Bi'dah. there can be no additions to the Koran or the perfect way the world works under islam. meaning no hope for a reformation without the reformers being killed for being apostates.


43 posted on 12/28/2005 1:57:16 PM PST by bdfromlv (Leavenworth hard time)
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To: SJackson
Interesting article, but I think the author misses a very important point. Instead of asking why Islamic societies lag in science, he would have been better off asking why almost every society "lags" in science. Science is almost uniquely Western as a dominant cultural force, despite the relatively advanced cultures found in other parts of the world at various points in human history.

What has set Europe apart (and, by extension, those parts of the world that were explored and developed by the European powers) from any other culture since the 15th century was that it was uniquely positioned to take advantage of three key cultural forces that combined to lay the foundation for rapid scientific advancement. These include the following: 1) the "linear" mindset of Judaeo-Christianity, which was in stark contrast to the "cyclical" mindset of almost every other culture in the history of the world; 2) the egalitarianism of Christianity, which resulted in the historical anomaly of human equality across different ethnic and tribal lines; and 3) the Persian numerical system, which was left behind when the Moors were chased out of Europe in the late 1400s.

Item #1 is important because it explains why the most important, and enduring, legacies of exploration have been left by the Europeans. A "cyclical" mindset that was common in all Eastern and aboriginal cultures is not conducive to exploration and scientific development, for people with this mindset view the world around them as nothing more than endless cycles of days, years, lunar phases, etc. You plant in the spring, harvest in the fall, do your best to keep warm in the winter, and then start all over again in the spring. That's all there is to it, and then one day you die of a disease or of old age and take your place next to some mystical bonfire in the sky.

The "linear" history of Judaism and Christianity changed all of that. Since the world had a beginning and will have an end, one of the underlying currents in Western society was the notion that these various cycles didn't always have to be the same. The farmer who planted and harvested 10 acres of corn one year began to think about how to plant and harvest 15 acres the next year, and instead of simply accepting natural phenomena like famines, plagues, etc. at face value, people began to think about how to deal with them and minimize the harm they caused. This point is often overlooked, and yet it goes a long way toward explaining why Western culture has dominated the world for so long. The man in Asia who looked out at the Pacific Ocean simply saw waves crashing on the shore, while the man in Europe who looked out at the Atlantic wondered what was on the other side.

Item #3 was absolutely essential to scientific development because the Roman numbering system was useless for anything more advanced than counting and cataloguing. So many of the basic elements of mathematics that we take for granted -- including such things as multiplication, division, negative numbers, and even the number "0" -- were meaningless in the context of the Roman system.

44 posted on 12/28/2005 1:59:09 PM PST by Alberta's Child (Said the night wind to the little lamb . . . "Do you see what I see?")
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To: MeanWestTexan
(chortle)

IUD = IED post #3

(snort!)

45 posted on 12/28/2005 2:00:54 PM PST by manwiththehands (My Christmas wish: I wish Republicans were running the country.)
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To: SJackson
>Why Does the Muslim World Lag in Science?

Why is the US
so far behind Asia in
the business world?

46 posted on 12/28/2005 2:02:43 PM PST by theFIRMbss
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To: theFIRMbss

What makes you think the U.S. lags behind Asia in the business world?


47 posted on 12/28/2005 2:05:45 PM PST by Alberta's Child (Said the night wind to the little lamb . . . "Do you see what I see?")
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Comment #48 Removed by Moderator

To: SJackson
Excellent. The development to be encouraged by all means, as Sun Tzu taught: "never prevent the enemy from wasting his time and resources and otherwise injuring himself. If possible, facilitate such endeavors of his."
49 posted on 12/28/2005 2:07:34 PM PST by GSlob
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To: SJackson
A classice bit of science humor:

HEAVEN IS HOTTER THAN HELL

The temperature of heaven can be rather accurately computed. Our authority is the Bible, Isaiah 30:26 reads, Moreover, the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold as the light of seven days. Thus, heaven receives from the moon as much radiation as the earth does from the sun, and in addition seven times seven (forty nine) times as much as the earth does from the sun, or fifty times in all. The light we receive from the moon is one ten-thousandth of the light we receive from the sun, so we can ignore that. With these data we can compute the temperature of heaven: The radiation falling on heaven will heat it to the point where the heat lost by radiation is just equal to the heat received by radiation. In other words, heaven loses fifty times as much heat as the earth by radiation. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann fourth power law for radiation

(H/E)4 = 50

where E is the absolute temperature of the earth, 300°K (273+27). This gives H the absolute temperature of heaven, as 798° absolute (525°C).

The exact temperature of hell cannot be computed but it must be less than 444.6°C, the temperature at which brimstone or sulfur changes from a liquid to a gas. Revelations 21:8: But the fearful and unbelieving... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." A lake of molten brimstone [sulfur] means that its temperature must be at or below the boiling point, which is 444.6°C. (Above that point, it would be a vapor, not a lake.)

We have then, temperature of heaven, 525°C (977°F). Temperature of hell, less than 445°F). Therefore heaven is hotter than hell.


50 posted on 12/28/2005 2:11:34 PM PST by Stultis (I don't worry about the war turning into "Vietnam" in Iraq; I worry about it doing so in Congress.)
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Comment #51 Removed by Moderator

To: R.W.Ratikal
Could it be that Arabs are I --- Inf---- Infer --- In, In, Inferior?

Judging by the evidence, no other conclusion is possible.

52 posted on 12/28/2005 2:43:35 PM PST by Publius6961 (The IQ of California voters is about 420........... .............cumulatively)
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To: Sensei Ern
The real answer is that they [islam] stifle free thought. THat also explains why China's only venture into science is to steal from us.

An observation that can't be emphasized enough.
All cultures who delude themselves into believing they were destined to rule the world (most asian cultures and islam) share the same fate, eternal ignorance, because they are convinced that there is nothing they can learn from the barbarians, their eventual subjects. Islam isolated themselves from Europe during the rennaissance and the enlightenment, as did China.
For centuries, the greatest crime in China was allowing Chinese "knowledge" out -- or allowing "barbarian knowledge" in.

Imagine, if you can, a China or islamic world with the wherewithal to build spacecraft, nuclear weapons, rockets, cutting age medical equipment and efficient communications network without any Western help whatsoever.

Now, that's scary...

53 posted on 12/28/2005 3:11:26 PM PST by Publius6961 (The IQ of California voters is about 420........... .............cumulatively)
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To: quefstar
Actually the Arabic world pioneered the scientific method and empirical thought...600 years ago.

No they did not. They simply adopted it from the Greeks, through their books, which they did save and protect until the West were ready to exploit them again.

54 posted on 12/28/2005 3:15:54 PM PST by Publius6961 (The IQ of California voters is about 420........... .............cumulatively)
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To: SJackson
Probably because they're all watching TV, they've got some killer shows on this season.

MONDAYS:
8:00 - "Husseinfeld"
8:30 - "Mad About Everything"
9:00 - "Osama In The Middle"
9:30 - "The Brian Benben Bin Laden Show"
10:00 - "Allah McBeal"

TUESDAYS:
8:00 - "Wheel of Torture"
8:30 - "Who Wants to be a Terrorist"
9:00 - "Children Are Forbidden From Saying The Darndest Things"
9:30 - "Afghanistan's Wackiest Public Execution Bloopers"
10:00 - "Buffy The Yankee Imperialist Dog Slayer"

WEDNESDAYS:
8:00 - "Dharma & Mohammed"
8:30 - "That Taliban Show"
9:00 - "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pita"
9:30 - "Just Shoot Everyone"
10:00 - "Veilwatch"

THURSDAYS:
8:00 - "Survivor - Afghanistan!"
8:30 - "Touched by an Infidel"
9:00 - "Veronica's Closet -- Full of Long, Black, Shapeless Dresses
9:30 - "My Two Baghdads"
10:00 - "Diagnosis: Heresy"

FRIDAYS:
8:00 - "Judge Laden"
8:30 - "Afganistan's Funniest Surveillance Tapes"
9:00 - "What Law & Order?"
9:30 - "Achmeds Creek"
10:00 - "No-witness News"

55 posted on 12/28/2005 3:20:09 PM PST by Serb5150 (God has two dwellings: one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart -Izaak Walton)
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To: theFIRMbss
Why is the US so far behind Asia in the business world?

Because the US discourages use of "business" for political gain.

56 posted on 12/28/2005 3:35:56 PM PST by Dan(9698)
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To: Serb5150

hehehehe :)


57 posted on 12/28/2005 3:40:45 PM PST by WV Mountain Mama (Honestly, did anyone really get a Lexus for Christmas?)
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To: SJackson
What this person summed up in about 10 pages, I can sum up in far less than 10 lines, towit:

The Koran is the problem, not the solution.

The Koran is the "perfect" book, therefore no diviation is possible.

The Koran holds every answer, therefore if the answer isn't in the Koran, it's not important.

Such is the reason that Saudi Arabia alone has a dozen or so "Universities", but has hundreds of "Islamic Schools".

That's all. That sums up why the Muslim world is 100 years or more out of date with technology.

As long as Islam and the next world are more important that THIS life and world, they'll always be behind in Science and Technology.

58 posted on 12/28/2005 4:00:53 PM PST by America's Resolve (I've become a 'single issue voter' for 06 and 08. My issue is illegal immigration!)
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To: SJackson

I'm gonna say it has something to do with not advancing as a civilization for the last thousand years or so.


59 posted on 12/28/2005 4:04:25 PM PST by oneofmany (Salus populi suprema lex)
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To: takbodan

Good point. And that their "holy book" is the Quran.


60 posted on 12/28/2005 4:05:59 PM PST by onedoug
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