The real story here is that the monk understood what Archimedes was in the process of creating and, understanding what that would mean for future generations of high school students, did his best to prevent the monstrosity that was Mr. Spencer from ever having a subject area to teach. Sadly, he failed in his efforts, but he did manage to buy as all some time.

or "buy us all some time," whichever.

Religion - protecting the masses from reason for over 5,000 years.

Old News...

religion, is there anything it can't fark up

Dinki: Religion - protecting the masses from reason for over 5,000 years.

Thread over.

Dinki: Religion - protecting the masses from reason for over 5,000 years.

Came here to say this. And maybe to post this:




And this:

[begin wacko religious fundie screed]
If God wanted us to learn calculus back then, he would have not killed Archimedes before he could finish and he would have told the Monk not to scrape off the text. So this is God's will and should not be questioned.
[end wacko religious fundie screed]

Talk about yesterday's news today. I saw this on NOVA about 3 years ago.

If it weren't for Jesus we'd have flying cars by now! Damn you personal lord and savior!

"Don't disturb my circles."

The monk was also using a working model of the Antikythera mechanism as a doorstop.

As opposed to all of those non-religious prayers...

abb3w: Old News...

Very old news. I think I learned about this two years ago.

Parchment in the medieval world was quite rare and expensive; you often find newer works written over older works (religious or not) because it was easier than making new stuff to write on.

In completely unrelated news, a priest told Nicolai Gogol that literature was sinful, so Gogol burned the second volume manuscript of his masterpiece, Dead Souls, stopped eating and died.

No word on what the priest said at the funeral, if anything.

From now on I'm going to do all my math homework on erased pages from a King James version of the Holy Bible.

Which would make it a palimpsest

.

Angry Drunk Bureaucrat: Parchment in the medieval world was quite rare and expensive; you often find newer works written over older works (religious or not) because it was easier than making new stuff to write on.

THIS.

We should be thankful a monk got to to reuse that paper and not some tax collector, merchant, or government records where they would likely have never need found or even destroyed.

I used to write "save me jesus" on my calc margins, so I understand.

/ok, it was pre-calc.

Came for the Dark Ages graph... left happy.

Religion destroying unique bits of science in favor of repeating the same old mantras over and over? Yep, sounds about right.

Well, at least he didn't write non-religious prayers.

Cool article. I hadn't seen that, thanks. Now why doesn't my family have any moldering, 700-year-old books? Oh, illiterate farmers, that's right. Dammit.

Of course. The Devil uses Science in an attempt to trick the Faithful.

Good call, there, monk. You get a wafer.

Just think of what the Muslim Dark Ages will bring to the planet.

Pope George Ringo: From now on I'm going to do all my math homework on erased pages from a King James version of the Holy Bible.

win!

As a catholic, I find this horrible.

Science is to be held, nourished and understood.

People who think religion was responsible for the "dark ages" need to read a book or two google the interweb.

CygnusDarius: Science is to be held, nourished and understood.

Apparently there were other plans...

Pope George Ringo: From now on I'm going to do all my math homework on erased pages from a King James version of the Holy Bible.

Don't be silly, everyone knows that erased bible paper is best suitable for rolling joints.

unavailable for comment

Religion: Cause thinking is for pussies.

EwokHunter: Don't be silly, everyone knows that erased bible paper is best suitable for rolling joints.

Erased? I smoked the entire book of Revelation once...

Who who? What what?

Religion: My dad can beat up your dad.

Spanky_McFarksalot: People who think religion was responsible for the "dark ages" need to read a book or two google the interweb.

Damned right, ya fookin' heathens:

Angry Drunk Bureaucrat: Parchment in the medieval world was quite rare and expensive; you often find newer works written over older works (religious or not) because it was easier than making new stuff to write on.

This.

Some of you anti-religion nuts need to get a better historical perspective. People did this same thing to make grocery lists, write promissory notes, draw maps and on and on and on. Most of those didn't survive at all.

some monk had scraped off his text and wrote religious prayers all over it

Some things never change.

Don't blame the monk for Archimedes' failure to find a good publisher.

mmagdalene: Damned right, ya fookin' heathens:

Sheeit, the Irish couldn't "save" a bottle of whisky for a rainy day...

whidbey: mmagdalene: Damned right, ya fookin' heathens:

Sheeit, the Irish couldn't "save" a bottle of whisky for a rainy day...

Oh, that's an ass-kickin', boyo. ;)

Did the monk use blue dye to note hyperlinks to out-of-context quotes? I think I know his name...

kleppe: Well, at least he didn't write non-religious prayers.

Oh Scott, help me set up my plasma screen television and home theater, for I know not of these things, so that we may watcheth unto the Super Bowl, and my house shall be a beacon unto others. Thanks, dude.

/And thanks, dude, to you

dahmers love zombie: Did the monk use blue dye to note hyperlinks to out-of-context quotes? I think I know his name...

ROFL

pi is twenty two sevenths. No more, no less. Do the math...
Mmmm, pie....

PokeyMon: pi is twenty two sevenths Seventy times seventy soldiers. No more, no less. Do the math...
Mmmm, pie....

Just poked in to blame the fall of the Roman Empire on the "Dark Ages" and point out that the only institution that was educating anyone was the Catholic Church. But don't stop the ignorance on my account.

PokeyMon: pi is twenty two sevenths. No more, no less. Do the math...
Mmmm, pie....

PI IS EXACTLY THREE!

dahmers love zombie: Did the monk use blue dye to note hyperlinks to out-of-context quotes? I think I know his name...

All of us who got that reference would like to bestow upon you 1 internet. Use it wisely.