The ancient Muslim empire in the city of Baghdad was the birthplace of the word (and the concept of the) algorithm. In the year 820 AD, a Persian genius named Muhammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi created the concept of the algorithm and algebra in an ancient book called Kitab al-Jebr. The book Kitab al-Jebr (later latinisedContinue reading “Ancient word of the day: Algorithm”
Tag Archives: ancient history
Alfabeto Pittorico: A curious alphabet of splendid architecture
Antonio Basoli was an celebrated Italian artist who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries, working mostly in Bologna. He is known for these beautiful architectural alphabet engravings called Alfabeto Pittorico. I love the ornate architecture and romanticism of these pieces and the sense of depth in these pieces. What do you think? Via DesignContinue reading “Alfabeto Pittorico: A curious alphabet of splendid architecture”
My All Time Favourite Top-Ten Non-Fiction History Books
Here’s a collection of some of the non-fiction I have reviewed in the past, ranked as a top ten. The subject matter and time periods vary, but I really like the history of medicine, psychology, symbolism, medieval history, animals and more. 1. The Book of Symbols by the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS)Continue reading “My All Time Favourite Top-Ten Non-Fiction History Books”
Ancient Word of the Day: Whelm
Whelm originates from Old English and it means to overturn or capsize a hollow vessel (a boat, a heart); to bury by wave, flood, storm, avalanche. The etymology is from the Old English hwelfan, to ‘upheave’. This explains the modern use of “overwhelmed” and “underwhelmed”. No voice divine the storm allay’d, No light propitious shone;Continue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Whelm”
Ancient word of the day: Nekyia
“The Nekyia is no aimless or destructive fall into the abyss, but a meaningful katabasis … its object the restoration of the whole man. Carl Jung
10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #46
Bonjour et bienvenue. This weeks wild and wooly wonders blew off the neighbours washing line into my backyard and now I’m just sifting through them! The first lines of famous books infographic This infographic definitely makes me want to check out some of these books I haven’t gotten around to reading yet. What about you?Continue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #46”
10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #44
Roll-up, roll-up to the bizarre three-ringed circus of 10 Interesting Things, where acrobats breathe fire and things go bump in the night. I hope you enjoy this carnival of weekly delights…. Fairytale images from Yakutia, Siberia by Alexeï Vassiliev I love the ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ vibes of these places and the combination ofContinue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #44”
Ancient Word of the Day: Crudelis
Crudelis: Latin To delight in blood and gore. Over time this word came to mean being vicious and cruel The word Crudelis comes from an even older word in Proto-Indo-European, simply Kru which means blood, gore and viscera. Kru words show up in the English language a lot in association with bloody and awful deaths.Continue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Crudelis”
10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #43
In the areas between the two hemispheres of your brain there is a cloudy twilight zone where weird things hang out, this is where you will find these random things. I hope you enjoy them! Thank you for reading… Sampson is allowed into the lab, so long as he wears full PPE A Golden RetrieverContinue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #43”
Ancient Word of the Day: Khemeia
Khemeia: The extraction of juices for medicine, from Ancient Greek Related to the word Khumos meaning plant juice. This word khemeia travelled from Greece to the Medieval Arabic world where it came to mean al-khemeia or alchemy. The goal of alchemists was to bring a mystical fifth element known as the ‘quintessence’ from the divineContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Khemeia”
Content Catnip 