Persian mathematician Abu al-Wafa' al-Buzjan would have been 1075 years old this week, and Google doodle featured MENA this week to celebrate. Check it out below.
As Google tells the lesser infomed bunch of us, the mathematician was "an innovator whose contributions to science include one of the first known introductions to negative numbers." Pretty cool stuff. Up your trigonometry chops with four more facts about this pivotal Persian.
1. He is well known for his contributions to spherical trigonometry, a wing of spherical geometry whose calculations are used most prevalently in astronomy, geodesy and navigation.
2. He developed thw world's first quadrant, which is a device that helps astronomers examine up to 90 degree angles. This was an idea originally developed by Ptolomy, and later put into practice by al-Buzjan.
3. He was born in modern-day Iran's Buzjan, Nishapur in 940 CE. Today, the area is empty. He went on to study mathematics in Baghdad, where he lived until his death in 997 CE.
4. As far as the political situation, al-Buzjan's work and life came at a great time in the Islamic world. During the transition into the ruling of the Persian Buwayhid dynasty, who was said to have fostered the development of scientific advancements for the region.
