The Ancient Beginnings of Science From Pre-Science to the Age of Greece, With Modern-Day Applications

Book excerpt: The Ancient Beginnings of Science From Pre-Science to the Age of Greece, With Modern-Day Applications By: Ronald A. Brown For more than 2,500 years, it has been assumed that science and mathematics originated solely in ancient Greece; however, this assumption is now known to be invalid. Recently available knowledge has shown that the ancient Hindus must also be included as one of the earliest precursors of modern mathematics and science, according to a set of criteria developed by Ronald A. Brown, namely the trifecta of philosophy, theory, and abstract mathematics. This trifecta implies that only the early Hindus and Greeks are true forerunners of modern science as they alone were the first to recognize that nature is rational and can, therefore, be understood by human reason. The ensuing developments, including selected modern topics, are discussed in historical detail, and demonstrate that the role of history is to clarify what is significant, what remains after having distilled out what is not essential.