Comment by delta_p_delta_x
Comment by delta_p_delta_x 2 days ago
> you will be forgiven to think that there is no contributions made by the Middle Ages mathematicians ever
This can be attributed at least in part to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the relative chaos that followed it in Central and Western Europe. Instead, Indian and Middle-Eastern mathematicians took over in the intervening millennium or so. Men like Āryabhaṭa, Brahmagupta, Al-Khwarizmi, et al made significant contributions to modern mathematical understanding.
The thing is that’s not really true. Fibonacci is one you’ve heard of, but there are plenty of other great medieval European mathematicians, such as Oresme, de Nemore, Wallingford, and Bradwardine.
Oddly, there does seem to be something of a long running fad among popular historians to downplay the achievements of the middle ages. None of that of course is to say that the collapse of the empire in the west wasn’t devastating, especially in the early middle ages.