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Shahidah

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Shahidah’s Bookshelves

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Shahidah is Currently Reading

Shahidah is currently reading

The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History

by Michael H. Hart

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in July 2013

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Shahidah said: " So far, I find it a good read :)I bought this book as
1. Prophet s.a.w is the first of the list! (Saidina Umar r.a. ranks 52)
2. I saw it as a good condensed history of people I should know and I could read about to find out more about their lives.

Mic So far, I find it a good read :)I bought this book as
1. Prophet s.a.w is the first of the list! (Saidina Umar r.a. ranks 52)
2. I saw it as a good condensed history of people I should know and I could read about to find out more about their lives.

Michael H.Hart first outlines clearly about why and how he came up with such a list. I thought that it was good he clarifies what qualifies as an influential person and he explains them well. His list includes religious figures, scientists (woohoo!), philosophers, politicians, leaders etc)

I also like the intro where there are three pages of timelines from 3500 BC to 1990 CE, tabulating the different significant events which happened in history. So there were mentions of scientific discovery, religious 'stuff', conquests etc etc. I love the chart as it puts things/history into perspective.

I like how for each individual he ranks, he explains why another individual is not at that rank instead and it gives an insight to how deep he evaluates who he would at a certain rank.

One thing which I am not satisfied about the portion about the Prophet s.a.w. was how extensive was the development of physical sciences and engineering. For the portion about Jesus (a.s.), Michael Hart writes " Similarly , even though modern science first arose in the Christian nations of western Europe, it seems inappropriate to think of Jesus as responsible for the rise of science. Certainly, none of the early Christians interpreted the teachings of Jesus as a call for scientific investigation of the physical world." And this, is the exact opposite of what happened in the history of Islam! Yeah, just thought that it would be more wholesome if Michael Hart was to include this portion as well.

I know that Newton was responsible for the Newton Laws but man, was he more accomplished. Below, I list fun facts/achievements about Newton;
- He was born in the same year Galileo passed on
- He discovered that white light is made up of 7 colours
- Invented the first reflecting telescope
- Supplied the unified theory(Field of mechanics!) which revolutionised the study of astronomy
- Integral Calculus!
- Binomial Theorum!

Jesus Christ ranks third and I learnt quite a fair bit from the writing. The author credits the spread of Christianity to two main people, Jesus whom carried the ideals and St Paul who proselytized the faith. I have heard of St Paul or perhaps, read about him off-hand but did not know of this fact. It was also interesting that Michael Hart writes "(Jesus) he was himself a devout Jew ". And that "Jesus presented a spiritual message; Paul added to that the worship of Christ" Just these two quotes alone bare the contradiction. I guess I am looking forward reading the portion about St Paul ...more "

progress:

(page 52 of 556)
"Albert Einstein is next!" — Jul 26, 2013 03:24PM

Jul 19, 2013 05:51AM · see review

Shahidah rated a book it was amazing

A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Bill Bryson

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Shahidah said: " William Paley ( English theologian in 1802 ) contended that if you found a pocket-watch on the ground, even if you had never seen it before, you would instantly perceive that it had been made by an intelligent entity. So it was, he believed , with na ...more "

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(page 473 of 544)
— May 01, 2013 05:04PM

May 01, 2013 05:04PM · see review

Shahidah is currently reading

Pieces of You

by Tablo

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Mar 15, 2015 02:49AM

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Shahidah’s Quotes

“In France, a chemist named Pilatre de Rozier tested the flammability of hydrogen by gulping a mouthful and blowing across an open flame, proving at a stroke that hydrogen is indeed explosively combustible and that eyebrows are not necessarily a permanent feature of one's face.”
― Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything

tags: science

228 likes

“With no magnetic field, Mars has no defense against harsh solar radiation. If I were exposed to it, I’d get so much cancer, the cancer would have cancer.”
― Andy Weir, The Martian

62 likes

“It didn’t rain for you, maybe, but it always rains for me. The sky shatters and rains shards of glass.”
― Tablo, Pieces of You

tags: rain, tablo

296 likes

“For you to be here now, trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to assemble in an intricate and curiously obliging manner to create you.”
― Bill Bryson, A Really Short History of Nearly Everything

11 likes

“Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this ancient remnant of the Big Bang. The next time you complain that there is nothing on, remember that you can always watch the birth of the universe.”
― Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything

tags: big-bang, universe

414 likes

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