I followed up on a link provided by a friend on facebook about one ethno-mathematician who delivered a talk on fractals in maths and how the patterns are all over Africa when one sees an aerial view of African villages. Knowing the quality with which TED Talks come with, I followed it. I was not too amazed about the fractals etc in Africa because I'm one African confident in my continent's history. Ron Eglsh studies how maths and culture intersect and has done a lot in this area.
I was, however, thrilled by how Ron Eglash delivered the whole thing in a very simple manner. He made the mathematics of it seem so simple and everyday so much so that I almost lost track of the politico-historical significance of what he was saying about the continent. After watching the video called 'Ron Eglash on African Fractals' on ted.com I was convinced that the biases, prejudices against Africa - including the lack of credit given to the continent for it contribution to world civilisation - would change, even if gradually.
What is most significant in all the adventure - if I may say so - is that it's been led not only by continental African intellectuals, but by respected academics from the West. It's refreshing to see the current intellectuals in the West are able to rise above the many biases against Africa in and around them in their communities and come forth with their achievement, thereby showing light those communities. I was thrilled to read an article by Dr. Deutscher on language and how it limits thinking (actually there is no inherent capacity for language to do this save our experience plus language). He was addressing that old myth posited by Whorf who is the most under-qualified person to speak on the issue. My take was that Whorf's flimsy assertions led to - after many in the West believed it - the slaving and the righteousness with which the slavers acted (their mission to help those limited by language to think and develop). Eglash has joined the team too and I'm glad.
But things, as I have mentioned, are changing. And Africans must rise to join or lead that change. As it stands now, Africans have yet to do more for themselves.
5 comments:
I enjoyed that talk too - made me wish I understood more about fractals et al!
Reminds me of the debate surrounding the origin of Great Zimbabwe. There's a very strong (and prejudiced) school of thought that would rather believe aliens built Great Zimbabwe than the indigenous communities.
Exactly Obed. How are the African academicians rising to challenge the status-quo? Are they even doing so? The problem is most African academicians still write that Mungo Park discovered this, Stevenson discovered that... in that long chain of nonsense discoveries. It's been said and argued that the African has no history. And what is history? I have realised that there is no English proverb I cannot find a better match for in Twi. Yes, and there are a lot of Twi proverbs that cannot even be translated into English. Who said we weren't observant and thoughtful? Who said we had no culture and that we were/are barbarians? Who is more barbaric, those who fight to defend their territory like what Chaka the Zulu did, or those who, for no reason, kill its women for being witches? When Yaa Asantewa, Nandi, Tinubu, etc were making names in Africa, the so-called civilised folks were killing their women and yet they turn around to point fingers at us.
Look let's not accept this. It would change. When Zimbabwe (meaning a nation of stones) was known to have great architectural designs, they (some eurocentric archaelogist) quickly came out to say that it could only have been developed by people of lighter skin. Yet, recent researchers have discovered that it isn't so. The Dogon people were reading the stars and galaxy long long before the so-called Galileos and cos did anything of that sort. Let's just put these in our books. They needn't recognise it. Let's recognise these ourselves. For it's only hypocritical for them to do so.
I wonder when a woman would become the president of the US... and even when it happens we shall tell them it already has. when did they allow women to vote in their countries, when did the rights of women granted. Yet, long long ago we had it.
Exactly Obed. How are the African academicians rising to challenge the status-quo? Are they even doing so? The problem is most African academicians still write that Mungo Park discovered this, Stevenson discovered that... in that long chain of nonsense discoveries. It's been said and argued that the African has no history. And what is history? I have realised that there is no English proverb I cannot find a better match for in Twi. Yes, and there are a lot of Twi proverbs that cannot even be translated into English. Who said we weren't observant and thoughtful? Who said we had no culture and that we were/are barbarians? Who is more barbaric, those who fight to defend their territory like what Chaka the Zulu did, or those who, for no reason, kill its women for being witches? When Yaa Asantewa, Nandi, Tinubu, etc were making names in Africa, the so-called civilised folks were killing their women and yet they turn around to point fingers at us.
Look let's not accept this. It would change. When Zimbabwe (meaning a nation of stones) was known to have great architectural designs, they (some eurocentric archaelogist) quickly came out to say that it could only have been developed by people of lighter skin. Yet, recent researchers have discovered that it isn't so. The Dogon people were reading the stars and galaxy long long before the so-called Galileos and cos did anything of that sort. Let's just put these in our books. They needn't recognise it. Let's recognise these ourselves. For it's only hypocritical for them to do so.
I wonder when a woman would become the president of the US... and even when it happens we shall tell them it already has. when did they allow women to vote in their countries, when did the rights of women granted. Yet, long long ago we had it.
Obed I made a very long comment but I think the internet hates me so I couldn't post it and it got lost.
What I said, to be pithy, was that what has African intellectuals doing to erase these stigmas. The Historians are still talking about Mungo Park discovering this, Stevenson discovering that. This base attitude wouldn't help us.
I also talked about the whites claiming ownership of Zimbabwe's (meaning a nation of stones) architecture. Yet, recent works have shown otherwise.
What was Europe doing to its women when Yaa Asantewaa, Tinubu, Nandi were making names in Africa? They were killing them for being witches. When did America granted women rights? Were women voting? When would they elect their first female president? Even if they do we can point to them that it's been here long since. Which people have killed the most? We can talk of all the World Wars, that never started here in Africa or by Africans, we can talk of the Holocaust, we can talk of the Slave Trade and the many Inquisitions all over Europe. Now who is a savage? and who loves blood?
The Dogon people were studying the stars and sky for many many years before the discovery of the telescope and all.
We need not to have them recognise these. We have to recognise them ourselves. that's the most important. And whichever intellectual would,upon all his studies, say that Africa contributed nothing to civilisation is only exhibiting his swotness and folly.
Fiona you should have. I enjoyed it too
@Fredua isn't it unfortunate? That we don't even know know what our intellectuals are doing? On their own?
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