The Outsider Perspective

Rashmun wrote:It has been said of Alberuni (a visiting scientist in medieval India) that he, being an outsider, was able to observe certain things and point out contradictions which seemed to have escaped the notice of Indian scientists themselves. For instance Alberuni is the person who first pointed out that on the one hand Indian astronomers accept the myth of the demon Rahu eating the moon (it had become part of scriptural dogma because dharmasastras like Manu Smriti accepted the myth) and on the other hand they were performing mathematical calculations related to astronomy in complete disregard of the Rahu myth.

The Alberuni example is illustrative of the fact that an outsider who is free from the bias of any insider with respect to any tradition brings a fresh perspective and can often point out things that had escaped the notice of the insider.

Rashmun wrote:

Rashmun wrote:It has been said of Alberuni (a visiting scientist in medieval India) that he, being an outsider, was able to observe certain things and point out contradictions which seemed to have escaped the notice of Indian scientists themselves. For instance Alberuni is the person who first pointed out that on the one hand Indian astronomers accept the myth of the demon Rahu eating the moon (it had become part of scriptural dogma because dharmasastras like Manu Smriti accepted the myth) and on the other hand they were performing mathematical calculations related to astronomy in complete disregard of the Rahu myth.

The Alberuni example is illustrative of the fact that an outsider who is free from the bias of any insider with respect to any tradition brings a fresh perspective and can often point out things that had escaped the notice of the insider.

Or pretend to accept.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Rashmun wrote:

Rashmun wrote:It has been said of Alberuni (a visiting scientist in medieval India) that he, being an outsider, was able to observe certain things and point out contradictions which seemed to have escaped the notice of Indian scientists themselves. For instance Alberuni is the person who first pointed out that on the one hand Indian astronomers accept the myth of the demon Rahu eating the moon (it had become part of scriptural dogma because dharmasastras like Manu Smriti accepted the myth) and on the other hand they were performing mathematical calculations related to astronomy in complete disregard of the Rahu myth.

The Alberuni example is illustrative of the fact that an outsider who is free from the bias of any insider with respect to any tradition brings a fresh perspective and can often point out things that had escaped the notice of the insider.

Or pretend to accept.

Speculating, Stating your opinion or your statement of fact?

Rashmun wrote:It has been said of Alberuni (a visiting scientist in medieval India) that he, being an outsider, was able to observe certain things and point out contradictions which seemed to have escaped the notice of Indian scientists themselves. For instance Alberuni is the person who first pointed out that on the one hand Indian astronomers accept the myth of the demon Rahu eating the moon (it had become part of scriptural dogma because dharmasastras like Manu Smriti accepted the myth) and on the other hand they were performing mathematical calculations related to astronomy in complete disregard of the Rahu myth.

The Alberuni example is illustrative of the fact that an outsider who is free from the bias of any insider with respect to any tradition brings a fresh perspective and can often point out things that had escaped the notice of the insider.

pravalika nanda wrote:

Rashmun wrote:It has been said of Alberuni (a visiting scientist in medieval India) that he, being an outsider, was able to observe certain things and point out contradictions which seemed to have escaped the notice of Indian scientists themselves. For instance Alberuni is the person who first pointed out that on the one hand Indian astronomers accept the myth of the demon Rahu eating the moon (it had become part of scriptural dogma because dharmasastras like Manu Smriti accepted the myth) and on the other hand they were performing mathematical calculations related to astronomy in complete disregard of the Rahu myth.

The Alberuni example is illustrative of the fact that an outsider who is free from the bias of any insider with respect to any tradition brings a fresh perspective and can often point out things that had escaped the notice of the insider.

** no, it sounds like the latter group of indina astronomers recognized that this rahu stuff was a myth and hence they kept it out of their calcs. did al-beruni do any math when he wasn't making these useless observations? list his scientific contributions.