Clivedurdle

The Archimedes Codex (or via: amazon.co.uk)

I am really enjoying this, bought serendiptitiously yesterday!

Little tidbits that belief in one god an be traced back to Archimedes and his followers, that Pythagorous and Euclid were not that important, that the world of learning by focusing on the philosophers and poets has missed the plot, that Hagia Sophia was only possible because of Archimedes, that the xian curriculum of salvation by ignoring Archimedes has seriously biased all our modern thinking.

This book is about the beginning of a revolution in our thinking - the

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism being the other part of turning our understanding of the ancient world upside down.

Where was Archimedes work found? On parchment that had been scraped off and used as a prayer book. How was it reconstructed, using the best of modern science and technology and conservation and imaging techniques.

Roger Pearse

The renegade force originally assembled for the crusade and hijacked by the Venetians were instantly excommunicated, of course.

For the sack of Constantinople was indeed a tremendous catastrophe. The list of works last referenced in Photius and Constantine Porphyrogenitus in the 9th century is very great.

Michael Grant did a book on ancient technology. Few realise, for instance, that the vending machine existed, or street lighting.

The ability to recognise and use palimpsests has given us a number of lost works. The new multi-spectral imaging technology would be very useful, if more widely available.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

premjan

Pythagoras and Euclid not as important as Archimedes? What about the axiomatic approach to geometry?

Clivedurdle

I don't remember them working on absolute and potential infinities and calculus!

And were the four horses at St Marks Venice stolen then?

It seems Hero - who had automatically opening doors and steam engines - was dependent on Archimedes - which may mean number one mind, and is found in Diomedes, the mind of Zeus (or God). They may have worshipped the beauty and order of the cosmos.

On Euclid

How much are we still affected by this thin gruel of knowledge that was passed on?

Clivedurdle

I am going to quote a chunk from page 48 about squaring the parabola. The logical step by step process of Archimedes, of how he proves something, is I think directly related to the arguments we have here.

I was wondering about where to put this thread - here or S and S, and I chose here because I do see Archimedes as having developed a form of argument that is very powerful and appropriate but not much applied in bch.

To summarise, he argues first assume the curve is greater than four thirds of the triangle.

He then separately builds the curve up using very small triangles, which of course will be smaller than four thirds.

We now have two objects - the curve itself and an almost curve of very small straight line edges of triangles. - the jumble of triangles is an object bounded by straight lines.

But four thirds of an enclosed triangle is also bounded by straight lines.

He has two results - one greater, one smaller. This is impossible.

I hope people can see something else - there is a relationship between curves and straight lines!

And it is probably this sort of stuff that led me to dumping religion and xianity as illogical, not thought through, unfounded, and eventually led me to ask questions about OK, how did this social structure xianity get going, was there a founder or is myth and story the more logical explanation?

Roger Pearse

I believe so. Originally they stood in the Hippodrome.

The renegades also looted and destroyed the imperial tombs in the Church of the Holy Apostles, going back to Constantine. IIRC the whole lot was destroyed by the Moslems after 1453, and the church levelled.

Apparently some parts of Blachernae palace are still extant.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Clivedurdle

I strongly recommend this book, not least for the superb description of how they have worked out what Archimedes originally wrote and thought - including probably with reasonably accurate copies of what he drew, and the effects of several changes of operating systems and technology over the centuries!

driver8

Hmmm, sounds a lot like calculus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculus

arricchio

I actually got to see this manuscript when it was undergoing analysis at the Walter's Gallary in Baltimore. I was not aware that there was a book about it. Thanks for the tip. I'd definately like to read it.

Clivedurdle

Off topic - strange line in the middle somewhere - "evolved or intelligently designed" - do Americans feel they have to qualify the word evolve now? It could be a joke...