19
votes
Accepted
Ancient Chinese numbering system
It has been said that the invention of zero was a great leap forward, not only in abstract understanding, but in the ability to introduce place value notation and do computations; computing using ...
- 431
18
votes
Accepted
Is the Scientific Method uniquely Western?
In a word, yes, but only interpreting "western" broadly. The tradition of precise and systematic astronomical observations comes from ancient Babylonians, i.e. from Mesopotamia, and even Alexandria, ...
- 67.1k
15
votes
Accepted
Did a Chinese astronomical text conduct the "Galileo's Ship" thought experiment around the 2nd century BCE?
The text of Dai Nianzu's 中国人为何欢迎相对论 [Why did the Chinese welcome the theory of relativity], a commentary on Hu's book Einstein in China, published on 物理 [Physics; the journal for members of the ...
- 266
10
votes
Did a Chinese astronomical text conduct the "Galileo's Ship" thought experiment around the 2nd century BCE?
Chinese texts containing the idea of Galilean Relativity is actually an interpretation of Dai Nianzu (1), a Chinese historian of science. However, this interpretation of the texts is debatable, as is ...
- 1,985
8
votes
Has Chinese Remainder Theorem ever been used by Chinese military?
Is it possible that "Chinese remainder theorem" was used by the Chinese military? Who knows. But we know that the proliferation of Chinese generals and soldiers in connection with it comes from late ...
- 67.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Did ancient/medieval non-European cultures have a concept of energy? If so, what are the similarities and differences to the modern concept?
Etymology
Quite a few sources say that Aristotle was the progenitor of the term, after his use of energeia (a Latin transliteration of ἐνέργεια). However, one source notes that Heraclitus used a ...
- 8,122
4
votes
Did ancient/medieval non-European cultures have a concept of energy? If so, what are the similarities and differences to the modern concept?
In ancient Indian texts like Vedas and puranas there are so called philosophies or concepts of energy. Actually vedas and puranas are considered as religious texts, but these texts contain many hidden ...
- 209
3
votes
Has Chinese Remainder Theorem ever been used by Chinese military?
I am not able to prove that it was never used in the ways that you mentioned, but it's highly unlikely, to say the least.
The oldest known appearence of that theorem is in a Chinese text, the Sunzi ...
- 5,256
3
votes
Is the Scientific Method uniquely Western?
Yes, the scientific method is a Western invention. It was formulated in the end of the 16th century. In the English-speaking world, its invention is associated with Francis Bacon, but as it always ...
3
votes
Accepted
English translation of Xu Yue's Shushu Jiyi?
I'm afraid that there no English translation.
There is a Russian translation, see here, where it is also affirmed that
The secon part contains the descriptions of 13 [not 14] methods of ...
- 1,975
2
votes
Did ancient/medieval non-European cultures have a concept of energy? If so, what are the similarities and differences to the modern concept?
Weight is an old concept related to energy that was discussed both in not-so-Ancient China, Ancient India, or the Islamic Golden Age.
It meets each and every of your criteria :
Conservation of ...
- 1,805
2
votes
Is the Scientific Method uniquely Western?
Generally speaking every culture has a unique way of gathering knowledge, what is called "epistemology". Even in Anglo-American culture there is a lot of variance in the scientific method. For example,...
- 287
2
votes
Is the Scientific Method uniquely Western?
The whole question of the provenance of a cultural artifact such as the "scientific method" is fraught with hazard. For instance, alchemy has ancient origins. The late historian of science, Derek J. ...
- 265
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible