Episode 53 - Nabu-rimanni & Kidinu - Systematically Speaking

When is an approximation "good enough"? This week on The Mathematicians Podcast, host Benjamin Cornish opens the doors to his  gem and fossil shop to discuss why a polished piece of glass, or a clever mathematical shortcut, can sometimes be just as effective as the real thing.

We are shifting our focus toward the sprawling, shifting history of Mesopotamia. Today, we tackle a double bill of Babylonian titans: Nabu-rimanni and Kidinu. Though separated by two centuries and a revolving door of empires (from the Persians to the Greeks), these two temple astronomers foresaw the blossoming of predictive science.

In this episode, we explore:

• The "Feet of Clay" History: A whirlwind tour of Babylon, from the Tower of Babel and Hammurabi’s Code to the rise of the Persians and the lightning conquest of Alexander the Great.

• System A vs. System B: How Nabu-rimanni’s constant velocity model evolved into Kidinu’s sophisticated "zigzag" acceleration system.

• The Two-Second Error: How ancient mathematicians using little more than water clocks calculated the synodic month with a precision that rivals modern satellite data.

• The Babylonian Legacy: Why the Greeks (including Hipparchus) owe their greatest discoveries to the meticulous clay tablets of the East.

 

Keywords:
Babylonian Mathematics, History of Astronomy, Nabu-rimanni, Kidinu, System A and System B, Synodic Month, Ancient Babylon, Cuneiform Tablets, Persian Empire, Seleucid Empire, Mathematical History, Benjamin Cornish, Naburimannu, Kidinnu.

Hashtags:
#Mathematics #HistoryOfMaths #Astronomy #AncientBabylon #NabuRimanni #Kidinu #STEMHistory #SciencePodcast #AncientHistory #Babylon #MathsIsBeautiful #TheMathematiciansPodcast #PersianHistory #ScientificDiscovery

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If you enjoy the history of the people that count, consider supporting Benjamin via his tips page at https://ko-fi.com/benjamincornish

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Follow Benjamin on BlueSky at @mathematicians-pod 

 

The music was-
"Danse Macabre - Finale"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/