THE REVOLUTION OF INGENUITY: THE FALL OF THE WEST AND RISE OF THE EAST

              The next installation of "The Story of Maths" has taken us to the Old World - China, India, Middle East and a sneak-peek of the Middle Ages of Europe. After the decline of the ancient Greece, Roman empire emerged and conquered almost of Europe and North Africa. It was then followed by fall of the Roman Empire - the Dark Ages. During this time, Europe went to a series of anarchy. European mathematics also remained stagnant.

            However, in the Orient, mathematics have continued to flourish.  The host, Marcus Du Sautoy brought us to China and explored how mathematics have built the foundation of an imperial empire. The Ancient Chinese empire is the largest and currently world's oldest empire. The Chinese were skilled engineers. As a growing empire, they were able to incorporate mathematics in building the Great Wall of China. The structure is built as a fortress against the Mongol invaders from the north. The ancient Chinese have already the concept of a decimal place number system. They have also introduced a simpler way of writing numbers through calligraphy. The ancient Chinese were fascinated with the patterns in numbers. Examples include the concept of "magic square." This is the early form of the game Sudoku. I know that the name itself is Asian but this episode opened me to the concepts of the said game. Another example is how the Emperor slept with the some women, showing a geometric progression. I find this very disturbing and I was like "Seriously? Is it possible for him to impregnate hundreds of women and give the all equal justice?" The Chinese believed that numbers bear very powerful mystical powers. Numbers like 8 are said to bring fortune. The inspiration of the internet cryptography, the encoding of numbers using branches of mathematics, originated from the ancient Chinese.

            The Indian empire is situated south of the Chinese empire, occupying the Indian subcontinent.  The Indians believe in the concept of nothingness - "We were born nothing and die nothing." With this philosophy, they have formulated the concept of zero and designation for a symbol of it was commemorated. Indian mathematicians have also invented trigonometry. They used trigonometry in studying astronomy and the stars. The concepts of infinity and negative numbers were formulated. Negative numbers have been used in their business and commerce.  Evidences on the symbol of zero was seen in the Gwalior Fort. Contributions of Brahmagupta and Bhaskara II on the zero concept were also mentioned.

            Travelling along the west brings us back to the Middle East. During the rise of the Islamic Empire, the Arabs have collected the knowledge on the concept of numbers from the Indians. They have first devised a more simpler number system - the Hindu-Arabic numerals. In Baghdad, he visited the House of Wisdom where the father of Algebra, Mohammad al-Khowarizmi worked.  The language of algebra was born and the evolution of a solution to cubic equations. The Arabs were attributed as the inventors of the language of Algebra.

            Lastly, du Sautoy returned to Europe. He focused on the Medieval Mathematics. The Middle Ages is considered as the catalyst of the spread of Eastern knowledge to the West. The final leg of his journey is in Italy, where he introduced Leonardo Fibonacci and his Fibonacci Sequence.

        The second episode showed the link of the present from the past. The Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and the Chinese did not have a symbol for zero. It was until the Indians devised a simpler number system. I can say that there is much similarity of the Hindu-Arabic numerals and the Arabic numerals because I have lived most of my lifetime in the Middle East. I also missed Saudi Arabia when they featured the deserts, Arabian buildings and the market. The ingenuity of the Arabs, Chinese, and Indians made me admire their skills and contribution to the modern civilization.