Comment by Cyph0n
9 years ago
> Al Khwarizmi should not be credited with the development of algebra. Al Khwarizmi wrote a compendium, and algebra was used at least 2,000 years prior to Al Khwarizmi.
He formalized it from what I recall. Formalization is as important as the initial discovery.
> but one shouldn't classify compendium's as great intellectual achievements.
You seem to be quite certain that both of these compendiums lacked any original contributions from their authors. May I ask why that is the case?
No. I won't say that there were no original contributions from the authors. They were written by highly intelligent individuals who knew their fields. I was attempting to say that compendiums in and of themselves are not amongst the greatest of intellectual achievements.