Muslim Mathematicians Were 500 Years Advanced In Geometry

Pattern from 15th Century archway of Darb-i Imam shrine, Isfahan, Iran
Image courtesy of Peter Lu/Science

It was so amazing to me to find out how early Muslim Mathematicians were so advanced in Geometry. This can be noticed very clearly through the early Islamic architecture. That exactly what Peter J. Lu from Harvard University had discovered during his visit to Uzbekistan.

The Harvard graduate student in physics was fascinated by the beautiful and intricate geometric "girih" patterns on the 800-year-old buildings there, and he wanted to know how ancient artisans had created them. He discovered more than just a clever construction method. He also found an entirely unexpected level of mathematical sophistication in the designs, pointing at mathematical ideas that weren't formally developed until hundreds of years later.

Lu's determination to find out took him on a journey through hundreds of photographs of Islamic architecture in the libraries at Harvard—and now it's landed him an article in Science.

When Lu looked at photographs of Islamic buildings, he found that he could break the patterns on their surfaces up into the same shapes, even though the shapes often weren't immediately visible. "I couldn't sleep for days," he said. "I skipped Christmas break to work on it."

The research shows an important breakthrough had occurred in Islamic mathematics and design by 1200.

"It's absolutely stunning," Harvard's Peter Lu said in an interview. "They made tilings that reflect mathematics that were so sophisticated that we didn't figure it out until the last 20 or 30 years."

Amazing, isn't it?

Read Also:
Decagonal and quasi-crystalline tilings in medieval Islamic architecture (Peter Lu Paper)
Advanced geometry of Islamic art (BBC News)
Study finds advanced 20th-century geometry in 15th-century tilings (PhysOrg.com)
Ancient Islamic Penrose Tiles (Science News)
Ancient Tiles Reveal Complex Geometry (Discovery Channel)
Medieval Muslims Beat West to Math Breakthrough (PC Magazine)
Islamic ceramics wow mathematicians (The Register)