"Yes, yes, yes. Teacher Zhao came to our village to teach. It was a mission sent by the country. It would be vulgar to mention money."
Lu Yijian quickly changed the subject and said, "By the way, Mr. Zhao, if we were in ancient times, such as the Song Dynasty, would we have developed enough mathematics to lead to the Industrial Revolution?"
"Ancient times?"
Zhao Jun thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult."
"Why?"
“Because of the system, the institutions and the natural environment.”
"Can you tell me about it?"
Lu Yijian asked further questions, and everyone was also very curious.
Zhao Jun said, "Let's talk about the system first. In fact, our ancient mathematics was quite advanced. The Zhoubi Zhuan Jing already had square roots, and the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art and the Nine Chapters on the Book of Mathematics even included algebra, geometry, rational numbers, irrational numbers, pi, and trigonometric functions. This was over a thousand years ahead of the West at the time, and was not surpassed until the Renaissance."
"Then why was the West able to develop the Industrial Revolution first and surpass others in fields such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, accumulating such a huge advantage?"
"This is because ancient science in our country lacked a systematic system. For example, in mathematics, Chen Zi's answer to Rong Fang's question in Zhou Bi Zhuan mentioned using the Pythagorean theorem and square root extraction to calculate the distance from a person to the sun, but there was no square root procedure; it simply said "square root and divide."
"Almost all of the content in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art and the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Book is about how to calculate, directly deriving the answer, with little involvement in proof of principle. When Zhu Shijie listed the equation for the Duoji method, he did not derive it, but directly quoted it as common sense. This shows that the mathematical system at that time was not complete and lacked the intermediate derivation."
"Simply put, one plus one equals two. Everyone knows that. But why one plus one equals two? In ancient times, no one explored it; it became common knowledge. This is definitely not acceptable. Mathematics is a discipline based on logical reasoning. It uses logical deduction and induction to establish a rigorous system of proof for mathematical theorems and inferences; it cannot simply present results."
"So, although our ancient mathematics was quite advanced, the intermediate derivations and proofs were often omitted, making it difficult for ordinary people to learn and difficult to popularize. Even those who specialized in mathematics only knew the beginning and the end, missing the intermediate steps."
"In mathematical deduction, the derivation process accounts for a higher score than the correct answer. If you only write down the answer in a math test, you will be given a maximum of two points. Therefore, ancient Chinese mathematics only has questions and answers, lacking the intermediate proof."
"This seriously led to a major flaw in the mathematical system, and not just in mathematics; our ancients also lacked a spirit of inquiry in physics and chemistry. When Newton saw an apple fall to the ground, others would naturally think it was common sense. But he was able to think about why the apple fell to the ground, and then he discovered the earth's gravity and deduced the law of universal gravitation."
"So, in summary, if our ancient mathematical system is to be perfected, mathematicians must have a spirit of inquiry to understand why certain formulas hold true. Only by laying a solid foundation in mathematics can we extend it to physics and chemistry, and thus lay the foundation for the Industrial Revolution."
The level of mathematics, physics, and chemistry in ancient China has actually always been quite high. The achievements of Liu Hui and Zu Chongzhi in the field of mathematics were far beyond the reach of Westerners of the same period.
In the field of astronomy, the Eastern Han Dynasty astronomer Liu Hong perfectly calculated the duration of a natural year. The mechanics of pulleys, levers, lathes, and hydraulic facilities were also very complete. Even the first person to develop a manned space rocket was Tao Chengdao of the Ming Dynasty. To this day, the "Wanhu Mountain" on the surface of the moon is named in memory of Tao Chengdao.
Not to mention chemistry, gunpowder, petroleum, copper making, cinnabar, steelmaking, iron smelting, etc. are all recorded in Shen Kuo's Mengxi Bitan in the Song Dynasty.
Then why didn't ancient China develop an industrial revolution when its technology was far ahead of that of the West?
Renowned economist Justin Yifu Lin believes that this reflects the differences between China and the West in their attitudes towards science and technology. The most typical example is that the West focuses on experimental scientific methods, while the East focuses on practical values.
For example, when Newton saw an apple fall to the ground, he would think of gravity, while others would just see an apple, pick it up and eat it.
This is pragmatism at best, but a lack of theoretical inquiry at worst. People only see the apple fall, but they don't know why it fell. This is a significant flaw in scientific research, because science itself requires exploration.
Therefore, Zhao Jun believes that if one agrees with Lin Yifu's point of view, it would be difficult for ancient China to form a scientific system.
Moreover, Lin Yifu's point of view is also correct. Ancient Chinese science indeed only has a beginning and an end, and is seriously lacking in the intermediate deduction and proof process. It is difficult to establish an industry with such an incomplete system.
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