July
20, 2017 Thursday
Bedtime
Story
What did the Biological Diversity Suggest to the Brilliant Mind of
Let
me show you what the great Persian scholar Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201 to 1274)
observed about the biological diversity around him and what conclusions he came
to.
“Look
at the world of animals and birds.
They
have all that is necessary for defense, protection and daily life, including
strength, courage and appropriate tools.
Some
of their organs are real weapons.
For
example, horns - spears, teeth and claws – knives and needles, feet and hoofs –
cudgel.
The
thorns and needles of some animals are similar to arrows.
Animals
that have no other means of defense (as the gazelle and fox) protect themselves
with the help of flight and cunning.
Some
of them, for example, bees, ants and some bird species, have united in
communities in order to protect themselves and help each other.
The
organisms that can gain the new features faster are more variable.
As
a result, they gain advantages over other creatures.
The
bodies are changing as a result of the internal and external interactions.”
All
this some 600 years before Charles Darwin came up with his idea of evolution by
natural selection and is given the credit for coming up with the idea of evolution
of species!
It
just shows how soon historical truths are forgotten especially of those who are
currently seen as failed civilizations.
Of
course, it is quite another thing that even 150 years after Darwin, and some
750 years after Tusi most average human apes still chose the dark mysticism of
creation over evidence-backed evolution by natural selection of species.
That
is a reflection of how primitive our brain still is and how strongly emotions
govern our thinking rather than reason or evidence.
Well,
enough of biology!
We
are losing track and let us return to the Liar’s Paradox.
In
the rich Islamic scientific world the liar paradox was the hot topic of
discussion for at least five centuries (10th century to 13th
century).
I
think it is very important to consider Tusi’s take on the Liar Paradox before
we go on to Tarski’s.
Tusi
in turn had first studied the analysis of his predecessor Athir al-Din
al-Abhari whose neither the place or the year of birth is known.
The
surname Abhari might be connected to the city of Abhar in Iran and hence it is
possible that he was born there.
He
seemed to have breathed his last in 1262 or so in Iran.
Abhari
too was fascinated with the Liar Paradox.
Stay tuned to the voice of an average story storytelling
chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.in/
Good night mon ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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Another great educator and a teacher that I am aware of is
Professor Subhashish Chattopadhyay in Bangalore, India.
While I narrate stories, Professor Subhashish an electronic
engineer and a former professor at BARC, does and teaches real mathematics and
physics.
He started the participation of Indian students at the
International Physics Olympiad.
Do visit him here:
All his books can be downloaded for free through this link:
For edutainment and English education of your children, I
recommend this large collection of Halloween Songs for Kids:
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