Ravages of religion: What BYU and Islamic countries have in common

[SeattleUte]

I read this in an essay in the current edition of the New York Review of Books called "Without God," by U. of Texas' nobel prize winning physicist Steven Weinberg:

"In the past forty years I have not seen any paper in the areas of physics or astronomy that I follow that was written in an Islamic country and was worth reading. Thousands of scientific papers are turned out in these countries, and perhaps I missed something. Still, in 2002 the periodical Nature carried out a survey of science in Islamic countries, and found just three areas in which the Islamic world produced excellent science, all three directed toward applications rather than basic science. They were desalination, falconry, and camel breeding."

This reminded me of BYU and its desolate record for research.

[Solon]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

I read this in an essay in the current edition of the New York Review of Books called "Without God," by U. of Texas' nobel prize winning physicist Steven Weinberg:

"In the past forty years I have not seen any paper in the areas of physics or astronomy that I follow that was written in an Islamic country and was worth reading. Thousands of scientific papers are turned out in these countries, and perhaps I missed something. Still, in 2002 the periodical Nature carried out a survey of science in Islamic countries, and found just three areas in which the Islamic world produced excellent science, all three directed toward applications rather than basic science. They were desalination, falconry, and camel breeding."

This reminded me of BYU and its desolate record for research.

It's one of the great ironies of history that the Islamic world today is largely regarded as a social, political, cultural, and scientific backwater. A thousand years ago, the Islamic world boasted a vibrant community of scientific and artistic minds, while Europe languished under the oppression of the Middle Ages Catholicism.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Still smarting over that close loss in Seattle, are we?

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

I read this in an essay in the current edition of the New York Review of Books called "Without God," by U. of Texas' nobel prize winning physicist Steven Weinberg:

"In the past forty years I have not seen any paper in the areas of physics or astronomy that I follow that was written in an Islamic country and was worth reading. Thousands of scientific papers are turned out in these countries, and perhaps I missed something. Still, in 2002 the periodical Nature carried out a survey of science in Islamic countries, and found just three areas in which the Islamic world produced excellent science, all three directed toward applications rather than basic science. They were desalination, falconry, and camel breeding."

This reminded me of BYU and its desolate record for research.

Thanks for the laugh.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by Solon

It's one of the great ironies of history that the Islamic world today is largely regarded as a social, political, cultural, and scientific backwater. A thousand years ago, the Islamic world boasted a vibrant community of scientific and artistic minds, while Europe languished under the oppression of the Middle Ages Catholicism.

It's because the Umayyad Empire absorbed all the former Greco-Roman prefectures. Then they squandered that marvelous legacy.

[YOhio]

That brings back great memories of my freshman Intro to Falconry class, a GE course.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

This reminded me of BYU and its desolate record for research.

Did you hire someone to take the Analogies section of the SAT for you?

And be assured my undergraduate research project ("Flatus: The Fifth Bodily Humour?") received excellent notes in a FARMS newsletter.