Book Reviewed: Ancient Hindu Science by Alok Kumar

Science, medicine, and astronomy in ancient Hindu India This book provides a brief sketch of the scientific contributions of Hindus and reminds us of the mathematical tools perfected for astronomical and physical calculations. The author articulates the essence of Hindu science that includes mathematics, science, and medicine. He gives equal allocation of time and space for these subjects to highlight the dominance of ancient Indian Hindu science and mathematics. Often, the author uses the quotes of European authors like Florian Cajori (1859–1930), a Swiss American historian who did not specialize in the history of Indian science. The author could have considered the Indian discoveries and inventions on its merit than start off with a European view. Most Western historians of 19th and 20th centuries were Eurocentric, and Cajori’s focus was Greek and European mathematics, and often underestimated Indian contributions. However, the proudest moments for Hindu science were when Indian mathematicians like Aryabhata (fifth century CE) and Brahmagupta developed the concept of zero as a number and created the decimal system. Early Hindu scholars wrote about algebra (called Bijaganita) and trigonometric functions like sine (jya) and cosine. Aryabhata proposed that the Earth rotates on its axis and planets move in elliptical orbits long before it was “discovered” in Europe. Indian astronomers calculated the length of the solar year very precisely and developed methods to predict eclipses. In short, ancient India was a scientific powerhouse making discoveries not only in mathematics and astronomy, but also in health, medicine, surgery, chemistry, and agriculture that founded modern science. The wisdom of Hindus may be found in the earliest Hindu scriptures: "Let noble thoughts come to us from every side." Rigveda 1.89.1, a call for open-mindedness and wisdom from all directions. "Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood." Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.6a. And "You have the right to perform your duties, but not to the fruits of your actions." Bhagavad Gita 2.47. The author could have expanded on the chapters that focus on mathematics, and astronomy. But for in-depth studies, I recommend: “The History of Ancient Indian Mathematics" by C.N. Srinivas Iyengar; Works by D.D. Kosambi; and “The Crest of the Peacock" by George Verghese Joseph.

Book Reviewed: Science in Ancient India by Melissa Stewart.

A brief history of ancient India for kids This is a book for kids about the scientific contributions of ancient India, which sounds interesting but also has serious errors. In the opening section, it states that “around 3,500 years ago, a group of light-skinned people called Aryans came to India through passages in the Hindu Kush mountains. Unlike the Dravidians, the Aryans were wandering herders. Over the next five hundred years, the Aryans slowly moved southward until they reached the Ganges Valley in central India. As the Aryans invaded, they pushed the Dravidians farther and farther south. Eventually, the Aryans began to settle down and farm.” This has strong racial overtones and subordination of the Indian population. 19th-century European scholars proposed this to support colonization of India by the British Empire, which claimed that Indo-European-speaking "Aryans" invaded and conquered the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) around 1500 BCE. Suggested that this invasion led to the decline of the IVC and the rise of Vedic culture in northern India. In fact, there's no clear evidence of violent invasion or large-scale destruction in Indus Valley sites. Recent genetic evidence, such as Rakhigarhi DNA studies, shows no marker of a sudden, large-scale migration or invasion. However, there is interesting section that describes the work of Indian astronomers like Brahmagupta who described the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter long before telescope was invented in the 1600s. The work of Aryabhata describes planetary movements in great detail. It is amazing that this scientific was known long before Europeans claimed to have discovered them.

Book Reviewed: To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People by Noah Feldman

The Jewish identity Author Noah Feldman, a Harvard law professor with Orthodox Jewish identity offers the ways Jews relate to faith, community, and the state of Israel in the 21st century. He examines four categories of Jews: traditionalists, progressives, evolutionists, and Godless Jews, and concludes that secular or non-believing Jews are engaged in a form of spiritual struggle, and still makes them Jewish. In one section he evaluates Israel’s identity as a Jewish state and its struggle with Arabs and Palestinian population. The focus is mainly on American Jewish experiences and doesn’t address Mizrahi, Sephardic, or African Jewish perspectives. He also doesn’t examine the widespread antisemitism and anti-Israel activities on American college campuses. Antisemitism in Western Europe and North America is due to an increase in Islamist ideology, and left-wing anti-Zionism. In one section of the book, he states that “The thing I can say with confidence is that, having immersed myself in Jewish tradition and thought, and having occupied the position of bad Jew to some observers and commentators some of the time, I have come to learn that the tradition, in all its multifarious guises and unexpected manifestations, will never abandon me. That's something.” Does the author mean that other traditions/faiths, like Hinduism, Buddhism or Christianism also does not abandon its followers for being different? So, what is unique about Jewish traditions? Harvard University’s January 2024 “Antisemitism on Campus” report underscores a significant rise in both witnessed and experienced antisemitic acts on campus. It is abundant in statistics as well as anecdotes, and offers more than three hundred pages of dismal reading. Except for Alan Dershowitz, no other faculty members including this author have ever criticized or condemned the school for its divisive role. So, how can we take his analysis seriously?

Book Reviewed: Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit by Henry A. Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Craig Mundie

AI in our future This is a review of the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) on future human identity. It explores AI's capacity to address challenges like climate, global politics, war, and healthcare in the absence of human autonomy. The book is purely speculative and lacks concrete solutions to the challenges of AI. Some parts of the book are too speculative to the extent that the authors are more like false prophets sounding alarm if ethical component is not added to the AI development. This book is no different from other AI books I have read, lacks solutions and blindly imbibing ethics into AI-machines. These authors never addressed how AI would treat animals and lower forms of life but always worried about the interests of Homo Sapiens. It goes to show that the AI researchers couldn’t care about this issue, or that AI will not harm animals. Homo Sapiens were new kids on the block when they appeared on this planet about 300,000 years ago. Palaeobiological evidence suggests that Homo Sapiens may have contributed to the demise of their cousins Neanderthals who became extinct about 40,000 years ago. Did Neanderthals ever think that they would be better off to have Homo Sapiens eliminated, no, they didn’t. Then why is it so important to produce AI with human elements imbibed into it? This becomes a problem when we consider infusing AI with too much of our own limitations like biases, emotions, or subjective views that will reduce AI’s objectivity or clarity in certain tasks. For example, understanding fundamental truths about the cosmos or life itself would never be achieved. AI with human-like thoughts (humane AI) cloud its judgment and misinterpret raw data. Subjective thinking overrides data-driven reasoning. Science thrives on objectivity and falsifiability, the traits not always shared by humans. The book leans heavily on conjecture regarding AI’s capabilities and societal impacts without providing concrete evidence, and it lacks practical solutions.

Book Reviewed: Lost Christianities: The Battles of Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew by Bart Ehrman

How did early “chaotic” Christianity evolve into a major faith system This is a scholarly exploration of several Christian movements in the first two hundred years of the common era that did not make into the current Christian system. This period in the Biblical history was marred by theological conflicts and destruction of scriptures regarded by early bishops as heretical. These included several scriptures of Gnosticism, Marcionism, and ebonist theology. The author shows that these groups had vastly different description of the Jesus’ teachings, salvation, and the identity of God. Gospel of Mary (Mary Magdalene), Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, and numerous other apocryphal acts and epistles offers alternate portrayals of Jesus, the God, and Christian beliefs and practices. In fact, Mary Magdalene, one of the closest disciples of Jesus who knew Jesus’ teachings well was instructed by Jesus to lead his ministry after his departure. This gospel clearly states that there is no such thing as Sin in this world. Author Ehrman discusses about forty-five apocryphal texts used by diverse group of Christian communities who believed and practiced Christian faith very differently. The role of early bishops and leaders of Christian communities were influential in the final outcome. By the end of the fourth century, the current version of the New Testament came into existence. The author calls early bishops who shaped the New Testament as the sacred scriptures of proto-orthodox Christians. This process included forgery, destruction of apocryphal texts that were labeled heresy, and creation of texts to uphold the proto-orthodox Christianity. The Gospels were written anonymously to begin with and later were called by the names of their reputed authors, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is apparent that the New Testament canon was not divinely dictated, but it evolved over time through human decisions that were contentious and politically motivated. Heresiologists (who refuted heresies: beliefs or doctrines contrary to orthodox Christian teaching was regarded as false) like, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Epiphanius, and Tertullian fought to destroy Gnosticism, Marcionism, and ebonist theology. Proto-Orthodox Bishops like Ignatius, Polycarp, Clement, Athanasius preached the early form of Christian belief system with forged texts to support their view. There are numerous books published by the “Jesus Seminar,” a team of well-respected Biblical scholars that discuss how the four canonized gospels evolved and came into existence, and which part of these gospels are fabricated. The author briefly discusses this in this book. This is a thought-provoking and well-researched work that narrates the very fluid state of early Christian belief system. This is highly readable, and I strongly recommend this to readers interested in early Christianity, biblical history, and anyone interested to know the truth about New Testament.