Discussions about discoveries & inventions on Columbus Day
“It’s a non-stop invention, this game of life, and as soon as you think you’ve got it, you lose it.” ~Tim Finn
More than 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus left Spain and headed west with 3 ships under his command; his intended destination was India. He seriously underestimated the size of the earth, and was hoping to reach India taking a western ocean route. On October 12, 1492, he ended on a new land – America. Still believing that he had landed in India, he called the native Americans on this new land ‘Indians’.
Today, on October 12, America is celebrating Columbus Day. Discussions about discoveries and inventions are in the air. Today is the day to brag about our ancestors and their discoveries.
So what did your forefathers invented or discovered?
There is a long list of the inventions and discoveries that India has made. Not sure how true or accurate those lists are, we will let someone else worry about that. 
However, looking at the discoveries or inventions that came from India, why is it that we always look for the small or little things? ..or it is just a skewed observation? :)
For example, here are some of the famous inventions/discoveries that India takes credit for:
Concept of zero: Out for all the number, we decided to invent something that has no value – zero. Come on now, we could have done something higher and larger, right?
Binary system: How about binary system, a combination of zeros and ones. Yes, we made progress, moved up by one number from zero, but still, we could have invented something bigger, no? The ‘ones’ and ‘zeros’ only?
Infinity: Then, there are some claims that ‘infinity’ in math came from India. Infinity is ‘something very large’, beyond a number can describe. Now we are talking! Something BIG finally came from India. That is something we should brag about. Now, what exactly is infinity? Well, infinity is any number divided by zero!!!
Stuck at zero again?? Read the rest of this entry »
