Data Science Pioneers: Khwarizmi
The great Persian mathematician
Without any doubt, the algorithm has a unique role in data science and machine learning. Basically, problem-solving with machine programming or automation does not usually start with writing a program. Before writing a program, it is necessary to define step by step what the program should do. This step-by-step definition of an operation is called Algorithm. The algorithm is originally from the name of the great Persian mathematician, Khwarizmi. Khwarizmi means, was born in “Khwarizm” or “Khwarazm” city. This city was the center of the Persian(Iranian) Khwarazmian civilization, and a series of kingdoms such as the Khwarazmian dynasty and the Afrighid dynasty, whose capitals were (among others) Kath, Gurganj (modern Konye-Urgench). Today Khwarazm belongs partly to Uzbekistan and partly to Turkmenistan.
The Persian scientist’s methods, in adding, subtraction, multiplication, and division were considered by European mathematicians. As part of the 12th-century wave of science flowing into Europe via translations, the scientific texts proved to be revolutionary in Europe. Khwarizmi’s Latinized name, Algorismus, turned into the name of the method used for computations, and survives in the modern term “algorithm”. It gradually replaced the previous abacus-based methods used in Europe. So, the method that expresses the solution of problems step by step and accurately and in sufficient detail and finally reaches the answer is called the algorithmic method or Algorithm.
His scientific reputation is due to the work he has done in mathematics, especially in the field of algebra, so no medieval mathematician like him has been influential in mathematical thought. Khwarizmi followed Dionantus’ work in the field of algebra and expanded it. He himself wrote a book in this field, “Al-Jabr-o-Al-Maqablah” which was translated into Latin as “Al-Jabra”, which caused the same word to be used in European languages, Algebra. Algebra is one of the most important math sciences in the field of data science and machine learning. For more knowledge and information about Algebra, please read this article published by me in TDS, Linear Algebra, The Hidden Engine of Machine Learning.
Another mathematical work written shortly after algebra is the Introduction to Arithmetic, which was based on his change from Latin numbers to today’s numbers. He first described numbers as a combination of units and then defined the terms used in algebra.
Based on his magnificent scientific works and research, one of the craters of the moon has been named in his honor. Al-Khwarizmi is a lunar impact crater located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southeast of the crater Moiseev and northeast of Saenger.
References
Saliba, George (September 1998). “Science and medicine”. Iranian Studies. (3–4): 681–690.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_Musa_al-Khwarizmi
Why algorithms are called algorithms | BBC Ideas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRkNaF0QvnI
West, Barbara A. (1 January 2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978–1–4381–1913–7
El-Baz, Farouk. “Al-Khwarizmi: A New-Found Basin on the Lunar Far Side”. Science, New Series, Vol. 180, №4091 (Jun. 15, 1973), pp. 1173–1176. Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Siadati, Saman. July 2020. Linear Algebra, The hidden engine of machine learning, www.Medium.com, https://towardsdatascience.com/linear-algebra-4bf8aeb3c19
Siadati, Saman. (2014). The first course in Algebra. 10.13140/RG.2.2.16017.04962.
