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Computation in Ancient India
The material in this book presents an introduction to the Indian contributions to the science of computing. The book starts with an overview of Indian science. The next three chapters deal with the description of binary numbers, the Kaṭapayādi notation and its equivalence to hashing that is used in computer systems, and the Pāṇini-Backus form to describe a high-level computer language based on the ideas of the great grammarian Pāṇini. The next two chapters describe some technical aspects of Pāṇini’s grammar and Indian logic. The Pāṇinian structure (5th century BCE) has been shown to be equivalent to the Turing machine. The rise of mathematical logic in India took place centuries before its rediscovery in Europe. The next chapter shows how one needs ingenuity in decoding Indian texts. It is shown that Indian myths represent information regarding the motions of the planets. The last two chapters deal with cosmology and cognitive science.
- GenresIndia
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 7, 2016
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About the author
Subhash Kak
44 books61 followersSubhash Kak is an Indian American computer scientist. He is Regents Professor and a previous Head of Computer Science Department at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater who has made contributions to cryptography, artificial neural networks, and quantum information.
Kak is also notable for his Indological publications on the history of science, the philosophy of science, ancient astronomy, and the history of mathematics. Alan Sokal labeled Kak "one of the leading intellectual luminaries of the Hindu-nationalist diaspora."
Kak is also notable for his Indological publications on the history of science, the philosophy of science, ancient astronomy, and the history of mathematics. Alan Sokal labeled Kak "one of the leading intellectual luminaries of the Hindu-nationalist diaspora."
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 23, 2021
This is a collection of academic papers written by various authors on computation and its origin/development in ancient India. Being so, it is not very easy to understand for the layman. Even if you understand the chapters and the arguments therein, their significance will not be clear. If you are a Computer Science/Mathematics and Computation/Electronics graduate, then this book is for you. I wish I had read this book while I was in college. I never knew that some of the most important developments in computer science are not recent, but date back to over 500BC in India. For example, the grammar for a formal language was already used in Panini's description of Sanskrit. Another example is binary numbers introduced by Pingala, Panini's brother which was used in classifying metrics in Indian music. The last chapter on consciousness and science was interesting too.
Another very interesting topic that was present was the development of various sciences from the Vedic heritage of yagnas, which required measurement of cyclic seasons, which in turn required observing the night sky closely, which led to developments in astronomy. Mathematics developed as a result of building of Vedic altars which required precision. The classification of hymns and their metres lead to development of binary numbers and so on.
This book has a few drawbacks too:
1. It is tedious to read, being the collection of published academic papers. It is quite terse, and you shouldn't read it if you are looking for a leisure read.
2. I feel that this book could have acommadated a larger introduction, which would have helped the common man to understand the significance of these papers. Also, the papers could have introduced a bit of commentary to make it easily readable.
3. Not all papers are equally interesting for including in a book. For example, the papers on Panini's grammar were too much detailed. I would have liked to see a basic exposition of Panini's grammar first, as I am not familiar with it, rather than a debate on what type of grammar it is, finite or infinite, context free or not. Another example is the paper on Indian logic. At the level of understanding of Indian logic introduced in the paper, nothing substantial has been proved. Just a basic expression of Indian logic in western terminology/symbols has been introduced. No substantial properties/theorems have been introduced.
Another very interesting topic that was present was the development of various sciences from the Vedic heritage of yagnas, which required measurement of cyclic seasons, which in turn required observing the night sky closely, which led to developments in astronomy. Mathematics developed as a result of building of Vedic altars which required precision. The classification of hymns and their metres lead to development of binary numbers and so on.
This book has a few drawbacks too:
1. It is tedious to read, being the collection of published academic papers. It is quite terse, and you shouldn't read it if you are looking for a leisure read.
2. I feel that this book could have acommadated a larger introduction, which would have helped the common man to understand the significance of these papers. Also, the papers could have introduced a bit of commentary to make it easily readable.
3. Not all papers are equally interesting for including in a book. For example, the papers on Panini's grammar were too much detailed. I would have liked to see a basic exposition of Panini's grammar first, as I am not familiar with it, rather than a debate on what type of grammar it is, finite or infinite, context free or not. Another example is the paper on Indian logic. At the level of understanding of Indian logic introduced in the paper, nothing substantial has been proved. Just a basic expression of Indian logic in western terminology/symbols has been introduced. No substantial properties/theorems have been introduced.
April 12, 2019
This is a collection of whitepapers on different subjects. I liked the binary number connection and chapter on 'Planets in the Vedic literature'. I skipped couple of sections quickly and those were not very interesting. Good for one time quick read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews