Languages

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Originally Posted by sesame

Yeah Ila, all these Indo-European Ethnic groups making epic journeys across Continents... .

Wait a second, you are the one expecting us to believe that Sanskit speakers travelled all the way to Europe and persuaded the locals to change their words for boat, two and mind. You are just making fancy wishful reverse calculations where everything starts in India and ends up in different parts of the world.

[sesame]

Originally Posted by SSA

Wait a second, you are the one expecting us to believe that Sanskit speakers travelled all the way to Europe and persuaded the locals to change their words for boat

Good ideas travel far and wide. At those times, it was not India as we know it now, not even Bharat, it was just Jambudweep, a centre of civilization. Dont get upset, 6000 years ago, european civilization was in it's infancy. Times come and times go. I didnt say that all good things began in India, but a lot of things attracted Westerers to that land. Why do you think so many expedetions were undertaken to chart a route to India? Why were so many places of the world named after the Indians? The Red Indians, the West Indies, Indonesia... why do they have India in common? Christopher Columbus in 1492 AD upon landing in North America, mistakenly thought that he had discovered India! So he named the locals Indians.

Other Cultures:
The Red-Indians held sway in America. Europeans only came later. The Hanging Garden was created in Babylon and the Great wall in China. Democracy, sculpture, Logical-Debates and a lot of other things began in Greece. Fire and gunpowder was invented in China. The Nalanda University (427-1197AD) in Pala era was one of the oldest centres of learning in the world! The Mayan culture of Mexico, the Aztecs and Incas were most fascinating (except the blood thirst). Ah, and dont forget Yoga and Ayurveda, they are also from India. Buddhism originated in India. The early Brahamanic culture in India was great (but later caste systems were really bad). The European Clergy culture was also magnificent, except the bigotry. Christianity came from Israel, the modern Christians tend to forget that. The Japanese warlike Samurai culture was also a masterpiece. Times change, nothing remains the same. The powerful may become ignorant, the rich can become paupers. Civilizations crumble and become extinct, new ones grow up. So, dont be prejudiced, give due credit, Annie.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Originally Posted by sesame

Good ideas travel far and wide.

WTF? that makes no sense. Names for objects are not ideas. I think you fail to comprehend reality.

[sesame]

Second as a unit of time is an idea, so is zero and the decimal system.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Originally Posted by sesame

Second as a unit of time is an idea, so is zero and the decimal system.

Umm, the second was not invented until the year 1000, by subdivision of the minuite by 60, creating the second, and again by 60 creating the third and then fourth. The word for second of course coming from the cardinal number.


And why would the greeks use the vedic names for numbers but not the decimal system itself? Major logic failure!

Think before you speak boyo.

[Ogryn1313]

Sheesh, you folks are too smart even for this college boy. But this is surely a good thing. Brains before beauty people!

[lancelotq]

Az anyanyelvem magyar.
My mother tongue is hungarian.

[sesame]

Originally Posted by SSAnna Kornikova

And why would the greeks use the vedic names for numbers but not the decimal system itself? Major logic failure!

Think before you speak boyo.

Without the concept of zero, invented in India, there would be no decimal system, Girlie!

[sesame]

The metric system, so neat and clean, increasing in multiples of ten, is the most scientific system of measurement. It was devised in 18th century France by scientists like Lavoisier (my favourite) under the rule of Louis 16.

Length: mm, cm, dm, meter, deca, hecto, kilometer
Mass: Grams... ... Kilograms
Temperature: Celsius.

Compare that with Pound-oz, inch-feet-yards, fathoms, furlongs, miles, leagues, fahrenheit system, with no head or tail, no co-ordination or interrelation!!! Just wondering, I mean no offence to anyone.

Water boils at 100 degree Celsius and freezes at zero degree. Neat!
The Triple point of water is 0.01°C.

Now, water boils at 212°Fahrenheit and freezes at 32!!! Triple point of water is 32.018 °F.

One cubic centimeter of water has a volume of 1 milli-liter, so 1000 cc = 1 L. Neat and clean, no confusion!

1 ounce= 16 drams = 480 grains = 1/12 pound
1 gallon = 231 cubic inches!
1 pint = 28.875 cubic inches. Bring me the calculator!

1 mile = 1760 yards = 5280 ft = 63360 inches. Wow!
1 Km = 1000 m = 100,000 cm. Smooth!

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

WTF? Way to go off on a tangent.

Avoirdupois weights are far more complex than you imagine btw. You can blame the French for them too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoirdupois

And as for the concept of Zero, sorry but what the fuck does that have to do with your faulty logic? Your shit still makes no sense.

Also, zero is not exactly an amazing discovery, it's not like every culture in the world had zero. Oh wait, they did. You don't get the importance of zero in the decimal system, it's not the role of zero as a number, but of the numeral zero's use as a positional digit that enables the decimal system. Although the use of zero in not actually essential, the use of any positional digit works the same.

Anyway, your logic is still faulty.


<Seseme logic>
Oh lets see, zero was first written in South America by the Olmecs, therefore the Indians must have copied them, all zero's everywhere originate from the Olmecs.
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[sesame]

Originally Posted by Anna

Stone artifacts in Ethiopia date from 2.6 million years ago

Can you show us some pictures or post links?

[ila]

Originally Posted by sesame

Fire and gunpowder was invented in China.

Fire was invented in China. You can't be serious Sesame.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Originally Posted by ila

Fire was invented in China. You can't be serious Sesame.

Lol, I missed that one, I think Seseme is trying to replace the out of Africa Theory with out of Asia. lol.

[GRH]

As to fire being "invented" (or more appropriately, "developed") in China, I would disagree with this larger premise, but I would suggest that Sesame chose a poor choice of words to express a larger concept. I suspect he meant to imply that "fire" was akin to "fireworks," or an artistry of using fire and flammable materials. I'll let him clarify his own position, but if this broader definition is applied, I most hardily agree, as our classical notion of "fireworks" is almost universally credited to the region of China.

For that matter, I don't think that Sesame necessarily espouses a Indo-centric perspective of human development, but I think that he attempts to counter the rather obvious Euro-centric view that has come to dominate MUCH of academia. Contemporary studies have done much to discredit the Euro-centric view, and this is admirable, but we still have MUCH to learn. The West still has much to embrace that came from the East, or farther. Even with our best hypotheses of how the "New World" came to be settled, it is our Mayan ancestors that developed perhaps the single best calendar in the history of mankind. Their calendar is more accurate (down to tenths or hundredths of a second) than our own Gregorian means of keeping time. This makes you really ponder what we consider "primitive" culture???