askantriangle

man goes to doctor. says he's in another version of russell's paradox. doctor says "that's easy. leave the set containing itself". man bursts into tears. "but doctor, ``man goes to doctor. says he's in...``"

I saw this on Quora recently: “Why was modern science developed in Europe and not other continents?” “Modern science” begs the question. Usually what civilians mean by “science” is “science and technology,” and continental boundaries, especially between Europe and Asia, are almost meaningless. Hellenic culture surrounded the Aegean and was at least as advanced in Asia Minor as on the European mainland, with a whole lot of islands that were as much Asian as European. Then Greek culture spread throughout the Mediterranean, to the point that southern Italy was called “Magna Graecia” or “Big Greece.” At the same time, Phoenicia — Lebanon — was also colonizing the Mediterranean, with major colonies in what are today France and Spain, but more particularly Carthage, on the north coast of Africa. Greeks also colonized the Triple Cities — Tripoli — and Cyrenaica in Africa, not to mention the powerful Greek presence in Egypt, which was ruled by the Ptolemies from after Alexander through Cleopatra. The real geography had one vital center of thought around the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Euxine seas; really just one sea, as far as the Greek and Phoenician mariners were concerned. Thus Egypt, the most ancient, was African — but also Mediterranean. The continents that converge on the Mediterranean are a later invention; the Mediterranean, as a highway, was what made the region culturally interactive. The other two great centers of thought were India, with Persia as a cultural bridge between India and the Mediterranean, and China, with its own complex history of mutual influence with India, and its own connection with the Mediterranean via the Silk Road. India gave us the only useful number system, without which modern science would not exist, while China gave us gunpowder, rockets, the printing press (but not movable type, which only made sense for alphabetic languages), and, above all, paper. But foundational as all three centers of science were, they were not “modern” -- an arbitrary dividing line which begins only with Northern European ascendancy. When you define modern science as European science, then of course it is largely European. Duh. But ALL three centers contributed to the foundation of modern science. Then if you add the axis of Andean and Mexican science, which gave us potatoes, tomatoes, maize, and other foodstuffs which now feed vast areas of the world, it should be clear that assigning modern science only to northern Europe is mere Western vanity. There were giant achievements on every continent except Antarctica, including the invention of ecologically sound agriculture in Australia long before domestication of monoculture crops and herds in Eurasia. And, of course, Africa's little contribution of the species H.erectus, H.habilis, and, don't forget, H.sapiens, so ALL technology began in Africa and spread outward from there, with improvements, refinements, and specialized adaptation EVERYWHERE. Instead of trying to assign some unique prowess in “modern” science to northern Europe, let's say that all humans innovate, all humans pass lore and skills to everywhere and adopt them from everywhere, and nobody gets to claim the title of “best scientists ever.”