Long before Silicon Valley, scholars in ancient Iraq created an intellectual hub that revolutionised science

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 22:42:02 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/long-before-silicon-valley-scholars-in-ancient-iraq-created-an-intellectual-hub-that-revolutionised-science-191589>

"Time and again, collaboration has proven to be a key driver of scientific and
technological innovation. So it follows that some of the greatest advances have
come from intellectual hubs set up for this very purpose.

Today Silicon Valley is synonymous with this idea – but it’s just one in a long
line of institutions that paved the way before it. One such example came from
Baghdad, Iraq, during the Islamic Golden Age in the fourth Islamic century
(tenth century AD).

It was around this time, when Europe was living through its so-called “Dark
Ages”, the House of Wisdom (Bayt-al Hikmah) was born. It was here that many
great works from Persia, China, India and Greece were collected and translated
into Arabic, including works by Aristotle and Euclid.

This culturally and linguistically diverse environment gave rise to innovations
that would have lasting legacies in fields including algebra, geography,
astronomy, medicine and engineering."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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