School Daze: a Critical Review of the African-American Baseline Essa for Science and Mathematics

School Daze: A Critical Review of the African-American Baseline Essa for Science and Mathematics

WALTER F. ROWE

n the early 1980s the Portland Public School

District in Portland, Oregon, was faced with the I task of preparing a court-ordered desegregation plan. A consultant to the school district, Asa Hilliard of

Georgia State University, suggested the concept of the

"African-American Baseline Essays" as part of Portland's These essays are riddled with pseudoscience plan. and pseudohistory. They The baseline essays were conceived as short stories

should not be used for the presenting the history, culture, and contributions of training of teachers or the Africans and African-Americans to art, language, mathe- teaching of students. matics, science, social studies, and music. These essays

were to serve as reference and source materials for teach-

ers in much the same way as textbooks. The "African-

American Baseline Essays" have been adopted by the

Portland and Detroit public school systems; they have

been seriously considered for adoption by public school

systems in Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington,

SKEPTICAL INQUIRER • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1995 27 grouped according to some system. A variety of explanations of the marks have been advanced: They may represent a multiplication table, a game tally, or a calendar. The reader of the mathematics essay is clearly intended to infer that systems of numeration originated in Africa. However, the Ishango bone is a rather recent example of a type of inscribed artifact produced by Paleolithic cultures stretching from the Iberian Peninsula to the Russian steppes. Most of these artifacts have been found in Europe. These facts are easily gleaned from Alexander Marshack's The Roots of Civilization (1972), a source Lumpkin cites in the mathematics baseline essay and in other writings.

Way Down in Egypt Land

A key concept running through die "African-American Baseline Essays" is that Egypt was an African civilization. This means something beyond the obvious fact that Egypt is located in Africa. In the science essay, Adams repeats the claim of Senegalese physicist Cheikh Anta Diop that the ancient Egyptians were descended from central equatorial and northwestern African ethnic groups (Diop 1982). Physical D.C. (Ortiz de Montellano 1991). by Beatrice Lumpkin, associate profes- anthropologists, however, do not Although the authors of the sor of mathematics at Malcolm X accept Diop's conclusions. Brace et al. "African-American Baseline Essays" College (a community college in (1993) have presented the results of a were supposedly selected because of Chicago). Lumpkin's scholarly writings comparison of 24 craniofacial measure- their knowledge of their specific disci- appear to be confined to brief notes in ments made on skeletal material from plines and because of their expertise in Historia Mathematica and articles in Egypt, Europe, North Africa, Nubia, African and African-American history, Journal of African Civilizations. None Somali, India, Asia, and North the scholarly credentials of the authors of these works contains any original America. The measurements chosen of the science and mathematics essays work in cither mathematics or history. were ones that are known to be geneti- are highly suspect. The author of die Lumpkin is also the author of a histor- cally controlled, but only trivially science essay is Hunter Havelin Adams ical novel and a children's book about adaptive. These researchers concluded III, who is described in the foreword to ancient Egypt. that the ancient Egyptians are much the essays as a "research scientist at more closely related to the populations Argonne National Laboratory." Adams of neolithic Europe, modern Europe, was not, in fact, a research scientist but In the Beginning North Africa, and India than to the a hygiene technician who had only a Beatrice Lumpkin begins her mathe- populations of sub-Saharan Africa. high school diploma (Ortiz de matics essay with a discussion of pre- These conclusions are consistent with Montellano 1991). historic African systems of numera- die research of other physical anthro- The mathematics essay was written tion. The discussion centers on the pologists (see Brace et al. [1993] for a Ishango bone, an artifact excavated in complete list). T h e inclusion of discus- Walter F Rowe is a professor in the Zaire that has been dated to 6500 B.C. sions of Egyptian science and madie- Department of Forensic Sciences, The (Marshack 1972). The Ishango bone is matics in die "African-American Base- George Washington University, Washing- engraved with a series of parallel line Essays" therefore is based on a fun- ton, D.C scratches having varying lengths and

28 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1995 damental misunderstanding of the bio- equinoxes, and the acceleration of from 2.58 to 4.42. Furthermore, die logical relationships among die various gravity. value of pi calculated from die dimen- African subpopulations. One of the figures accompanying the sions of a pyramid depends on die Even if it were true that die ancient science essay also informs the reader slope of its sides. Extant Egyptian Egyptians came from die same racial that the height of die Great Pyramid mathematical papyri reveal problems stock as sub-Saharan Africans, die dis- multiplied by 10' yields 91,651,673 dealing with the slopes of pyramids cussions of Egyptian science and mathe- miles, approximately the mean dis- and use four different values for die matics in die "African-American tance from die earth to die sun. slopes (Gillings 1972). Baseline Essays" would still be worthless This last assertion carries no weight In another section of the science for die training of public school teachers. as evidence that die Egyptians pos- essay Adams discusses what he calls Lumpkin's mathematics essay is merely sessed an unusual level of scientific "psychoenergetics," saying, "The shoddy scholarship, while Adams's sci- knowledge. There is no reason to mul- ancient Egyptians were known die ence essay unites pseudoscientific claims tiply the pyramid height by 10' (other worl thand over atos gethet dimastere desires odf answer)'magic' . If by with fanciful attempts at substantiation. (psi): precognition, psychokinesis, The science essay contains a number of diagrams purporting to demon- The 'scholarly' research displayed in both strate die ancient Egyptians' extraordi- nary scientific and mathematical essays is too shoddy to serve as a model sophistication. For example, Adams for any feather or student." reproduces as a full-page illustration a site plan of die Temple at Luxor with a chance the height multiplied by some remote viewing and other underdevel- human skeleton superimposed on it to simple factor did not give an approxi- oped human capabilities." According demonstrate that the Egyptian archi- mation of the mean distance from the to Adams, psi was an exact science that was used to preserve the world order tects designed die temple so that its earth to die sun, another multiplier and protect the pharaoh. However, if subdivisions would conform to the certainly could have been found that the Egyptians were such powerful proportions of die human body. A cur- would give die distance to the moon, magicians, why were they conquered sory glance at die diagram reveals that to the nearest star, or to the by the Persians? Why were ten revolts while the skeleton's ankles and knees Andromeda nebula. Writing the prod- against the Ptolemies unsuccessful? do indeed match crosswalk on die uct to eight significant figures incor- plan, none of die other joints (hips, rectly implies that the height of die Adams subsequendy informs read- wrists, elbows, or shoulders) corre- Great Pyramid is known with die same ers that ancient Egyptian doctors were sponds to any significant feature of die precision. Adams is evidently unfamil- also experts in the healing technique temple. That die builders intended a iar with the concept of significant fig- now known as Therapeutic Touch. correspondence between die temple ures (taught to high school physics and Readers of SKEPTICAL INQUIRER will and the human skeleton is rendered chemistry students). highly unlikely by another fact: The be familiar with die unsubstantiated portion of the temple that is supposed Adams repeats a standard claim of claims of the advocates of this fringe to represent the cranium, rib cage, Great Pyramid mysticism that die struc- medical therapy. Adams is deeply con- pelvis, and upper legs was built by ture encodes a number of mathematical fused about the distinction between Amenophis III; die remainder of the formulae. For example, die perimeter of science and pseudoscience. temple was built by Ramses II, approx- die base divided by twice die height Adams also has a penchant for wild imately two generations later (Baines supposedly gives die value of pi (which extrapolation from limited data. He and Malek 1980). is 3.14159265). Indeed if one performs discusses a small model of a bird found this computation using the dimensions in a tomb at Saqqara in 1898. When a Adams's science essay contains a of die Great Pyramid, one gets a good replica of this model was made from estimate of pi (3-150685). healthy dollop of Great Pyramid mys- balsa wood and a horizontal stabilizer ticism. According to Adams, die geom- Pyramidologists like Adams charac- (not present in the original) added, the etry of the Great Pyramid encodes as teristically restrict their attention to die replica was able to glide a short dis- follows: Great Pyramid and all but ignore other tance (Messiha et al. 1984). However, Egyptian pyramids. Forty-seven royal balsa wood is roughly 20 times less the value of pi, the principle of the pyramids are known to have existed. golden section, the number of days dense than die sycamore wood from in the tropical year, the relative The heights and base dimensions of 22 which die original artifact was made; diameters of the earth at the equator true pyramids belonging to this group consequently, die aerodynamic perfor- and the poles, and ratiometric [sic] can be determined with a reasonable mance of die balsa wood replica was distances of the planets from the degree of accuracy (Baines and Malek significantly different from that of the sun, the approximate mean length 1980). If these dimensions are used to of die earth's orbit around the sun, original. From this incompetent exer- calculate pi, one obtains values ranging the 26,000-year cycle of the cise in experimental archaeology,

SKEPTICAL. INQUIRER • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1995 29 Adams leaps to speculations about the rians should be better because Greek high government offices or military ancient Egyptians' use of transport and science and mathematics are better commands. The Greek and Mace- recreational gliders. The articles that documented than Egyptian science donian presence in Egypt has been Adams cites here were not written by and mathematics. Adams has difficulty compared to that of the Boers in South professional Egyptologists. getting even die most basic facts cor- Africa and whites in the antebellum Beatrice Lumpkin's treatment of rect about Alexander the Great and U.S. South (Bevan 1968; Lewis 1986). Egyptian mathematics is marginally bet- Alexandria: The intellectual elite of Alexandria ter than Adams's discussion of Egyptian during die first century after the death In fact, the Greeks called Egypt the science. It still violates die canons of his- of Alexander—die most creative peri- seat of scientific knowledge and sent torical scholarship in a number of ways. many of its [sic] most brilliant schol- od of Hellenistic mathematics and sci- Lumpkin frequently cites her own fic- ars there to study such as Thales, ence—was composed almost exclusively tional writings as authorities to substan- Democritus, and Pythagoras. Per- of Macedonians and Greeks from out- tiate her assertions. She also frequently haps it was this reason Alexander side of Egypt. Manetho, the historian made Alexandria, Egypt, the capital omits facts, especially when those facts to whom we owe the division of of his empire after he conquered do not support her conclusions. Egypt in 325 B.C Egyptian history into dynasties, is the For example, Lumpkin states that only identifiable Egyptian intellectual the Egyptian value of pi was better Alexander did not make Alexandria the during this period (Sarton 1966; Fraser than the biblical or Mesopotamian capital of his empire. Alexander actually 1972). value of pi equal to three. Nine esti- never saw the Alexandria to which he Beatrice Lumpkin fulminates mates of the value of pi were calculated gave his name; he ruled from Babylon against the supposed racism of the before A.D. 1000. Of these, the Egyp- and Susa until his death. These facts writers of mathematics textbooks: tian value was the second most inaccu- are readily verifiable in die writings of rate (Beckmann 1971). The use of a ancient historians, such as Plutarch Euclid of Alexandria, one of the greatest mathematicians of this era, value of pi equivalent to 3-125 has and A m a n . And contrary to die claims lived and died in Egypt. There is no been found in a Babylonian cuneiform of both Adams and Lumpkin, suggestion that he ever left Africa. Yet he is pictured in textbooks as a fair European Greek, not as an "The science and mathematics essays distort Egyptian. We have no pictures of these mathematicians, but we could the history of the transmission of Islamic at least visualize them honestly in costumes, complexions, and features science and mathematics to Europe." true to the peoples and their times.

tablet. This tablet is discussed in Alexandria was not an Egyptian city. It It is highly improbable that Euclid George Sarton's A History of Science was founded as a Greek colony and was was a native Egyptian. He wrote in (1966), a source cited by Lumpkin not legally part of Egypt. In antiquity it Greek and his name is a common elsewhere in her mathematics essay. was commonly referred to as Greek one. This name was sufficiently There are grounds for doubting that "Alexandria near Egypt" (Sarton 1966; common in antiquity that Euclid the die Egyptians had an understanding of Fraser 1972). mathematician was confused with the die concept of pi (Bunt et al. 1976). Adams's version of Egypt under die philosopher Euclid of Megara (Heath The Rhind mathematical papyrus rule of the Ptolemies is similarly a far- 1926). It is also likely that Euclid lived shows how the Egyptians calculated the rago of misinformation: for a time in Athens. The mathematical area of a circle from its diameter. To get commentator Proclus preserves a tradi- the area, 1/9 of die diameter is first cal- Frequently, it is assumed that, dur- tion that Euclid was a Platonist culated; this fraction is subtracted from ing the Hellenistic period of Greek (Morrow 1970). At the time of Euclid rule, the African character of Egypt the value of the diameter; and die result was negligible, however, to the con- the books of Plato had not yet begun is then squared. This is equivalent to trary, the Greeks practiced a policy to circulate widely, making it likely using a value of pi equal to 256/81. of assimilation, marrying Egyptian that Euclid lived at some time in This procedure for calculating the area women and even adopting Egyptian Athens and attended Plato's Academy. religion. of a circle appears to have been devel- T. L. Heath, the leading expert on oped empirically (Gillings 1972). Greek mathematics and Euclid in par- All of this is demonstrably false. There ticular, believed that Euclid must have Beware of Greeks was no such policy of assimilation. In studied at some time in Athens because fact, for many generations die Greeks it was only in Plato's Academy that he When Adams and Lumpkin attempt to in Egypt disapproved of marriages with could have learned the mathematics deal with later historical periods than native Egyptians. It was also many gen- that later appeared in the Elements ancient Egypt, their accuracy as histo- erations before native Egyptians held (Heath 1926).

30 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1995 Euclid's Elements is also firmly a "Egyptian calculator," virtually noth- The Transmission of part of Greek mathematical traditions. ing is known of Abu Kamil's life (Levey Islamic Mathematics and Three earlier Greek mathematicians 1980). Ibn Yunus lived and worked in Science to Europe are known to have written similar ele- Cairo in the tenth century (Goldstein ments of geometry (Morrow 1970). 1965; King 1980). Of the remaining The science and mathematics essays Significantly, one of these works was Islamic mathematicians, only ibn al- distort the history of the transmission the mathematics manual written by Haytham had an association with of Islamic science and mathematics to Theudius of Magnesia for use by Africa. Ibn al-Haytham (known to Europe. According to both Adams and Plato's Academy (Heath 1926). Lump- Europeans as Alhazen) was educated in Lumpkin, Europeans learned about kin is glowing in her praise of the Baghdad; he came to Egypt to partici- Egyptian, Hindu, and Arabic mathe- Elements: "The logical arrangement of pate in an unsuccessful project to dam matics and science through the transla- this work is so masterful the Elements the Nile River (Vernet 1965; Sabra tions of Constantinus Africanus (born dominated the teaching of geometry for 2,000 years." The abstraction of the Elements is Platonic, while the method "According to Adams, psi was an exact science of exposition (definition, common that was used to preserve the world order and notion, postulate, and theorem) is Aristotelian (Heath 1926; Bunt et al. protect the pharaoh," 1976). The extant Egyptian mathematical papyri have only the remotest 1980; Hogendijk 1985). in Carthage in North Africa). As similarity in form and content to The origins of the remaining Beatrice Lumpkin describes it, Con- Euclid's Elements. Islamic mathematicians mentioned in stantinus "brought a precious cargo of the mathematics essay are well known: manuscripts to Salerno, where a school Historians of mathematics consider was founded to translate and study the the Egyptian influence on Greek math- AI-Khwarizmt—Urgench in former Arabic works." Charactetistically, USSR (Berggrcn 1986). ematics to be minimal. This influence Lumpkin neglects to tell readers what Omar Khayyam—Nishapur (now in was confined to the very elementary Iran) (Berggren 1986). manuscripts he brought to Salerno. geometry of the time of Thales, to Nasir Eddin—Khorasan in Persia Adams is similarly uninformative. The practical methods of calculation (the (Eves 1971). works that Constantinus Africanus branch of mathematics the Greeks Al-Kashi—Kashan (90 miles north translated were the medical treatises of called "logistika") and to the proto- of Isfahan) (Berggren 1986). Al-Qasadi—Granada (mathematics Galen, Hippocrates, the Persian doctor algebra of Diophantus. The Greeks Haly Abbas, and the Jewish physician borrowed much more heavily from the baseline essay). Isaac Israeli (Castiglioni 1941; Crom- mathematics of Mesopotamia (Heath Lumpkin and Adams get many of bie 1959). 1921; Eves 1971; Fraser 1972). the facts about the lives and works of Adams explicitly charges European Islamic mathematicians and scientists scientists with plagiarizing the discover- Who Is Al-Khwarizm! and Why wrong. Both Lumpkin and Adams ies of Islamic scientists. For example, he Is He In 'African-American mention the Dar al-Hikma (House of asserts that ibn al-Haytham discovered Baseline Essays'? Wisdom) established by the Fatimid the refraction of light and that credit for rulers of Egypt in Cairo. Both essay this discovery has been falsely ascribed When she reaches the Middle Ages, the authors have ibn al-Haytham working to Isaac Newton. Not unexpectedly, period of Islamic mathematical domi- in the Dar al-Hikma; however, the Adams cites no authority for this extra- nance, Beatrice Lumpkin enthuses: "In only institution in Cairo with which ordinary statement. The mathematical summarizing the contribution of the ibn al-Haytham is known to have been law governing the relation between the African Muslim mathematicians, espe- associated is the al-Azhar Mosque angle of incidence and the angle of cially those of the Nile Valley, an author (Sabra 1980). Lumpkin also describes refraction is commonly known as Snell's is overwhelmed by an embarrassment ibn Yunus working in the Dar al- Law (after the seventeenth-century of riches." [Emphasis added.] The Hikma. This is highly unlikely: The Dutch physicist Willebrord Snell). Ibn "African-American Baseline Essays" Dar al-Hikma was founded in A.D. al-Haytham came close to discovering section on mathematics discusses eight 1005: ibn Yunus made his last astro- this law, but ultimately failed to do so Islamic mathematicians: Al-Khwar- nomical observation in A.D. 1003: and (Al-Daffa 1977). izmi. Abu Kami), ibn Yunus, ibn al- died in AD. 1009 (Sourdel 1965; King According to Adams, Newton also Haytham, Omar Khayyam, Nasir 1980). The article on the Dar al- has been improperly credited with the Eddin, AI-KashT, and Al Qasadi. Of Hikma in the Encyclopedia of Islam discovery of the law of gravity, saying it these, only Abu Kamil and ibn Yunus (Sourdel 1965) docs not mention the actually was discovered by Al-Khazin. can be considered in any sense African. name of a single Islamic scientist in Adams has confused Al-Khazin, a Beyond his appellation as the connection with the Dar al-Hikma. Sabaean mathematician and astron-

SKEPTICAL INQUIRER • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1995 31 omer of Persian origin (Dold- to prove pernicious. Their fallacious Eves, Howard. 1971. An Introduction to the History of Mathematics. New York: Holt, Samplonius 1980), with al-Khazini, modes of reasoning may dull the criti- Rinehart and Winston. the author of the Book of the Balance of cal faculties of readers. The "scholarly" Fraser, P. M. 1972. Ptolemaic Egypt Oxford: Wisdom. In mathematician al- research displayed in both essays is too Oxford University Press. Khazini's theory of weights, the weight shoddy to serve as a model for any Gillings. Richard J. 1972. Mathematics in the Time of the Pharaohs. Cambridge: MIT Press. of a body varies according to its dis- teacher or student. The essays will Goldstein. B. R. 1965. "Ibn Yunus." In tance from the center of the world. contribute to the growing tribalization Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, ed. by H. A. R Gibb. B. Lewis, E. Van Donzel et al. Accordingly, objects at the center of of American culture. A purported goal Leiden: E. J. Brill. the world weigh nothing. This is a far of the "African-American Baseline Hall, Robert E. 1980. •Al-KhazinT." In cry from Newton's inverse square law Essays" is to "eliminate personal and Dictionary of Scientific Biography, ed. by Charles Coulston Gillespie. New York: for the force of gravity acting between national ethnocentrism so that one Charles Scribner's Sons. two masses. At this point, the reader understands that a specific culture is Hartner, Willy. 1980. "Al-Battani." In Dic- will probably not be surprised to learn not intrinsically superior or inferior to tionary of Scientific Biography ed. by Charles that al-Khazini was actually a another." This statement is nothing Coulston Gillespie. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Byzantine Greek (Hall 1980). but cant. Throughout the science and Heath, T. L 1921. A History of Greek Mathe- Adams also charges that the work of mathematics essays the genuine matics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. achievements of Greek, Arab, Persian, Heath, T. L. 1926. Euclid's Elements in English. the astronomer al-Battani was stolen Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. by Copernicus. Copernicus did indeed and European scientists and mathe- Hogendijk. J. P. 1985. Ibn al-Hayshams use some of al-Battani's astronomical maticians are ruthlessly pillaged, and Completion of the Conies. New York: Springer-Verlag. observations (Hartner 1980; Duncan credit for them assigned to black Kennedy, E. S. 1980. "Al-Biruni." In Dictionary 1976); Copernicus clearly acknowl- African cultures on the flimsiest of of Scientific Biography ed. by Charles edged this use. In Book One of On the grounds. Coulston Gillespie. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres King. David A. 1980. "Ibn Yunus." In Copernicus explicitly cites al-Battani References Dictionary of Scientific Biography ed. by as the source of the erroneous estimate Charles Coulston Gillespie. New York: Al-Daffa. Ali Abdullah. 1977. The Muslim Con- Charles Scribner's Sons. tribution to Mathematics. London: Croom that die sun's diameter is only ten times Levey, Martin. 1980. "Abu Kamil." In Dictionary Helm. that of Venus (Duncan 1976). of Scientific Biography ed. by Charles Baines, John, and Jaromic Malek. 1980. Atlas of Coulston Gillespie. New York: Charles Finally, Adams asserts that the Ancient Egypt. New York: Facts on File, Inc. Scribner's Sons. Beckmann, Pen. 1971. A History of Pi. New works of al-BTruni were plundered by Lewis. Naphtali. 1986. Greeks in Ptolemaic York: St. Martins Press. both Galileo and Francis Bacon. Egypt: Case Studies in the Social History of the Bcrggren,J. L. 1986. Episodes in the Mathematics Unless these Western scientists were Hellenistic World Oxford: Oxford University of Medieval Islam. New York: Springcr- Press. Verlag. able to read Arabic (which is doubtful) Marshack, Alexander. 1972. The Roots of Bevan, Edwyn Robert. 1968. The House of they could scarcely have taken any of Civilization: The Cognitive Beginnings of Ptolemy: A History of Egypt Under the Man's First Art, Symbol and Notation. New their ideas directly from his works. Ptolemaic Dynasty Chicago: Argonaut, Inc., York McGraw-Hill Book Company. Publishers. (A reissue of the 1927 edition.) None of al-BTruni's books were trans- Messiha, Khalil, Guirguis Messiha, Gamal Brace. C. Loring, David P Tracer, Lucia Allen lated into European languages during Mokhtar, and Michael Frenchman. 1984. Yaroch, John Robb, Karl Brandt, and A. the Middle Ages or the Renaissance. Russell Nelson. 1993. "Clines and Ousters "African Experimental Aeronautics: A 2,000- Many have never been so translated. Versus 'Race': A Test in Ancient Egypt and Year-Old Model Glider." In Blacks in the Case of a Death on the Nile." Yearbook Science: Ancient and Modem, ed. by Ivan van Having been born south of the Aral of Physical Anthropology, Supplement to the Sertima. New Brunswick: Transaction Sea in Khwarizm, al-BTruni was not American Journal of Physical Anthropology 36: Books. African. There is irony in Hunter 1-31. New York: Wiley-Liss. Morrow, Glenn R 1970. Proclais: A Commentary on the First Book of Euclid's Elements. Havelin Adams III invoking the name Bunt, Lucas N. ft, Phillip S. Jones, and Jack D. Bedient. 1976. The Historical Roots of Princeton: Princeton University Press. of al-BTruni. In the words of one biog- Elementary Mathematics. Englewood Cliffs, Ortiz de Montellano, Bernard. 1991. Multi- rapher, "Biruni had a remarkably N.J.: Prentice-Hall. cultural pseudoscience: Spreading scientific illiteracy among minorities. SKEPTICAL open mind, but his tolerance was not Castiglioni, Arturo. 1941. A History of Medicine. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. INQUIRER. 16:46-50. extended to the dilettante, the fool, or Crombie. A. C. 1959. Medieval and Early Sabra. A. I. 1980. "Ibn al-Haytham." In Dic- the bigot" (Kennedy 1980). Modem Science. Vol I Science in the Middle tionary of Scientific Biography ed. by Charles Ages: V-XIII Centuries. Garden City. N.Y.: Coulston Gillespie. New York: Charles Doubleday and Company, Inc. Scribner's Sons. Conclusion Diop, Cheikh Anra. 1982. Origin of the ancient Sarton, George 1966. A History of Science. Egyptians. Journal of African Civilizations. 4 Cambridge: Harvard University Press. The science and mathematics essays in (2), November 9-37. Sourdel, D. 1965. "Dar al-Hikma." In Encyclo- Dold-Samplonius, Yvonne. 1980. "Al-Khazin." pedia of Islam, New Edition, ed. by H. A. R. the "African-American Baseline In Dictionary of Scientific Biography ed. by Gibb, B. Lewis, E. Van Donzel et al. Leiden: Essays" are riddled with pseudoscience Charles Coulston Gillespie. New York: E. J. Brill. and pseudohistory. As tools for the Charles Scribner's Sons. Vernet J. 1965. "Ibn al-Haytham." In Duncan, A. M. 1976. Copernicus: On the Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, ed. by training of public school teachers they Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. Newton H. A. R Gibb, B. Lewis, E. Van Donzel et al are not merely worthless, but are likely Abbot, Devon, England: David and Charles. Leiden: E. J. Brill. •

32 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1995