[Ni_Diambo]

Thanks KP for the compliment.

[ciceraw]

The same quote you are citing went ahead and claimed that africans have never domesticated any animal or grown a single crop (or words to that effect). If that is not rubbish then whatever i have in my dumpster is an a la carte menu. Where was the world's first university?



the great university of sankore at timbuktu: a brief note

timbuktu was more than merely a great intellectual nucleus of the west african civilizations of ghana, mali and songhai--it was one of the most splendid scientific centers of the time period corresponding to the european medieval and renaissance eras. Indeed, under the reign of askia muhammad i, also known as askia the great, it was celebrated as one of the world's most significant seats of learning. Among it most formidable scholars, professors and lecturers were ahmed baba--a highly distinguished historian frequently quoted in the tarikh-es-sudan and other works. The collection of ancient manuscripts at the university of sankore at timbuktu leaves us in no doubt about the magnificence of the institution and permits us to reconstruct this side of her past in fairly intimate details. In testament to its glory, for example, an old west african proverb states that, "salt comes from the north, gold from the south, and silver from the country of the white men, but the word of god and the treasures of wisdom are only to be found in timbuktu." once, an aspirant to the throne of the mighty songhai empire collected an army with which to dispute the reigning dynasty. Pausing at timbuktu, and have toured the university campus, visited the library, met the faculty and conversed with the head chancellor of the university of sankore, the prince requested the chancellor to write a formal letter to his rival to the throne, saying that he, "bankouri, renounced the throne that he might follow the life of a student in this city of books."

as several people have offered, it does not make sense to make an invention that one has no use of. Africa has largely been a hospitable home and hence her occupants have never had motivations to venture much further out as europeans with their feudal wars, plague, black plague, over population and horrible weather did.

That is why our best minds did not waste their time trying to come up with ideas to build a locomotive, a ship, a plane or a vehicle. Now, since this whole discussion boils down to the racist game of casting aspersions on the intelligence of an african, we should examine how africans have fared while on the same level playing field with whites. Most of you reading this have been in class with americans and know what it feels like to kick some *****.

African immigrants tend to fare much better than any other immigrants in america. They make three times as much as native blacks in new york and other big cities. Had there been a white race that existed along side africans for 6,000 + years and turned out amazing creations while black africans did not, then questions could arise about the mental abilities of the blacks. But it is all rubbish when "invention" and "civilization" are defined only from a euro-centric perspective.

If we discovered today that there was life in mars, i doubt we would immediately write off their intelligence just because they have not invented strip club poles yet.

[Kukurukakakara]

University of Sankore at Timbuktu

[ciceraw]

Originally Posted by Kukurukakakara

University of Sankore at Timbuktu

yup. in the meantime, watch this incredible video.

[YOUTUBE]

[Spaxs]

Originally Posted by nyege2

"Throughout 6000 years of recorded history the black african has invented nothing. Not a written language, weaved cloth, a calender, a plow, a road, a bridge, a railway, a ship, a system of measurement, or even a wheel."

absolutely true...nothing racist here. I don't want to say black men are stupid, NO. intellectually they are same as white but they are too lazy to challenge their mind and come up with something new. if one day you decided to live and use 'purely african' you would be surprised how far u can go.

here is an example. u wake up. don't switch the lights coz no african invented that. don't even go to radio or Tv. dont brush teeth coz no african invented toothpaste and brush. don't even use the sink coz it wasn't black invention. walk to the river and bath there, don't even use a car coz neither u or your ancestors invented it. you can't even assemble a bicycle. u bath and u can't wear clothes...those are not your inventions. maybe hide and skin if u can find one near you. no shoes maybe those masaai tyres (and the tyre is not your invention). u can't use the gas cooker or blender or water heater. no breakfast...find a cow on the way and suck the milk(thank God for the cow). poor african. walk out the house and don't come back there...maybe put up a hut. no cars, bus or bicycle. those are japanese or European. once u get to work (naked or in hide and skin) u cant use the computer, pen, book, ruler or the telephone or even the seat u have...what a poor african....i could go on for ever but this is a simple example of how blacks are 100% consumers of stuff they don't even have an idea how they are made.

[YB*]

Originally Posted by KILL PROPAGANDA

Why invent stuff you don't need? that is the question?
with the challenges of modern life, you are going to see many inventions from Africans, but expecting one to invent an air conditioner in an equatorial region, or an automobile in an sparsely populated heavily forested region like most of Africa was is pure idiocy.
.

Even assuming Africa was deeply forested 6000 yrs ago, are you implying Europeans found a land with ready made roads?? Thats why it was natural to invent carriages then later the automobile?? Africa was more or less the way it is, and the way you quote ultra modern inventions to rubbish the argument is just ...!

Because of the weather there, Europe was actually quite green and forested (look at last vestiges of this - eg Scotland), a civilisation like the Romans built the roads through the vegetation in sparsely populated regions, because they fathomed the need of it, even if in decades to come. Why didn't our bloody ancestors not make the roads in their land??

You'd imagine Africans traded over long distances on land, am assuming the need for a simple carriage is rather obvious. Africans came into contact with different cultures from across the seas, you'd imagine they would try to match, these other cultures by paying them a visit too, like build ships, NO , And am talking way back, evidence is there that by the time europeans and arabs were hitting the african coasts, the chinese had made contact.

Swallow the bitter pill or give a good argument!!!!! Africans we have a lot to think about, and the further back we look objectively, maybe we shall be able to move forward well.

[HUNDA07]

Originally Posted by Spaxs

absolutely true...nothing racist here. I don't want to say black men are stupid, NO. intellectually they are same as white but they are too lazy to challenge their mind and come up with something new. if one day you decided to live and use 'purely african' you would be surprised how far u can go.

here is an example. u wake up. don't switch the lights coz no african invented that. don't even go to radio or Tv. dont brush teeth coz no african invented toothpaste and brush. don't even use the sink coz it wasn't black invention. walk to the river and bath there, don't even use a car coz neither u or your ancestors invented it. you can't even assemble a bicycle. u bath and u can't wear clothes...those are not your inventions. maybe hide and skin if u can find one near you. no shoes maybe those masaai tyres (and the tyre is not your invention). u can't use the gas cooker or blender or water heater. no breakfast...find a cow on the way and suck the milk(thank God for the cow). poor african. walk out the house and don't come back there...maybe put up a hut. no cars, bus or bicycle. those are japanese or European. once u get to work (naked or in hide and skin) u cant use the computer, pen, book, ruler or the telephone or even the seat u have...what a poor african....i could go on for ever but this is a simple example of how blacks are 100% consumers of stuff they don't even have an idea how they are made.

The problem with this argument is that it assumes that being white means all these things are a result of this.

So many arguments above are that necessity is the mother of invention.

Were Africans satisfied with their situation that they did not feel compelled to invent further or did they lack the creativity required?

Or is it that their knowledge base was too small to develop this?

The truth is that there is a lot of evidence that Africans in sub sahara independently invented iron working and there are a number of archaeological finds of black african iron working that are older than any found elsewhere.. as yet.

Check out a few links


How Old is the Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa?

http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/history_in_...32.1alpern.pdf

UNESCO -<b>IRON IN AFRICA: REVISING THE HISTORY </b>

[KILL PROPAGANDA]

Originally Posted by YB*

Even assuming Africa was deeply forested 6000 yrs ago, are you implying Europeans found a land with ready made roads?? Thats why it was natural to invent carriages then later the automobile?? Africa was more or less the way it is, and the way you quote ultra modern inventions to rubbish the argument is just ...!

Africa was deeply forested even 50 years ago. and was sparsely populated upto 25 years ago. In Europe and China however, there was population explosion from as early the 1300s. this necessitated many laws such as the forbidding of subdivision of one's land among one's children. English tradition dictates that only the eldest son inherits the father's lands. this was to prevent further land fragmentation. In Africa e.g in Kenya, we are reaching that stage of population density now in the 21st century.
High population density such as in Europe in 1300s easily led to urbanisation and the the establishment of a professional class. it is this group that drives innovations. Africa has not been urbanised till quite recently because the population patterns did not favour urbanisation.

Originally Posted by YB*

[b]Because of the weather there, Europe was actually quite green and forested (look at last vestiges of this - eg Scotland), a civilisation like the Romans built the roads through the vegetation in sparsely populated regions, because they fathomed the need of it, even if in decades to come. Why didn't our bloody ancestors not make the roads in their land??

Even though Europe has some forests, all of that forest belonged to the King and was simply his hunting ground. the majority of Europeans who were peasants lived in cramped overcrowded cottages. remember that Europe for over 1000 years had the most autocratic form of dictatorial totalitarian monarchies. those roads etc were built for the king to use while touring his forests, not for the peasants who were the majority of Europeans then.
In Africa, many of the societies were largely egalitarian and in only few cases such as the Zulu or Dahomey, many tribes were led by Village Chiefs and Councils of elders. projects of such magnitude in those years required enormous mobilisation only dictators were capable of.

The Romans had to build roads because they ruled a large empire. there was no large African empire because as I have already stated, much of African villages were self-governing.

Originally Posted by YB*

[b]
You'd imagine Africans traded over long distances on land, am assuming the need for a simple carriage is rather obvious. Africans came into contact with different cultures from across the seas, you'd imagine they would try to match, these other cultures by paying them a visit too, like build ships, NO , And am talking way back, evidence is there that by the time europeans and arabs were hitting the african coasts, the chinese had made contact.

Africans did participate in Long distance trade, but in all instances, it was the foreigners who would come to Africa to seek African goods. never did the Africans make the long journeys to seek European or Chinese goods. it is obvious from these that the foreigners needed the African goods more than the Africans needed the foreign goods. the Africans had no need to travel long distances because they seemingly had all they needed here in Africa. why build roads and ships to use to make journeys you do not need to make. common sense if you ask me.

Remember that even all those European explorations by Vasco da Gama, Fransisco d'Almeida, Columbus etc were state-sponsored to find new lands for habitation and trade by Europeans because Europe was already overpopulated and opportunities for growth were running out. in Africa and the Americas though, there was no population pressure, hence no need for exploration of new land to settle in, home was just fine for these people.

Originally Posted by YB*

[b]Swallow the bitter pill or give a good argument!!!!! Africans we have a lot to think about, and the further back we look objectively, maybe we shall be able to move forward well.

I honestly do not see what your point is here. must be your indoctrinated side speaking. seems like a good argument to you is one that denigrates Africans and glorifies Europeans. I will not enter into such discourse, but my office is quite close to Kilimani Primary School, i could be able to round up a few schoolboys who will engage you in this.

[shodasho]

littleafrica.com - black inventors...extraordinary inventions!

biscuit cutter (a.p. Ashbourne)

super soaker (lonnie johnson)

folding bed (l.c. Bailey)

bicycle frame (issac r. Johnson)

coin changer (james a. Bauer)

space shuttle retrieval arm (wm. Harwell)

rotary engine (andrew j. Beard)

printing press (w.a. Lavallette)

car couple (andrew j. Beard)

envelope seal (f.w. Leslie)

letter box (g.e. Becket)

laser fuels (lester lee)

stainless steel pads (alfred benjamin)

pressure cooker (maurice w. Lee)

torpedo discharger (h. Bradberry)

window cleaner (a.l. Lewis)

disposable syringe (phil brooks)

pencil sharpener (john l.)

Love home security system (marie brown)

fire extinguisher (tom j. Marshal)

corn planter henry blair lock (w.a. Martin cotton)

planter (henry blair)

shoe lasting machine (jan matzeliger)

ironing board (sarah boone)

lubricators (elijah mccoy)

horse bridle bit (l.f.brown)

rocket catapult (hugh macdonald)

horse shoe (oscar e. Brown)

elevator (alexander miles)

pacemaker (otis boykin)

gas mask (garrett morgan)

guide missile (otis boykin)

traffic signal (garrett morgan)

lawn mower (john a. Burr)

hair brush (lyda newman)

typewriter (burridge & marshman)

heating furnace (alice h. Paker)

train alarm (r.a. Butler)

airship (j.f.pickering)

radiation detector (geo. Carruthers)

folding chair (purdgy/sadgwar)

peanut butter (george w. Carver)

hand stamp (w.b. Purvis)

paints & satins (george w. Carver)

fountain pen (w.b. Purvis)

lotion & soaps (george w. Carver)

dust pan (l.p.ray)

automatic fishing reel (george cook)

insect destroyer gun (a.c. Richardson)

ice cream mold (a.l. Cralle)

baby buggy (w.h. Richardson)

blood plasma (dr. Charles drew)

sugar refinement (n. Rillieux)

horse riding saddle (wm. D. David)

clothes dryer (g.t. Sampson)

shoe (w.a. Detiz)

celluar phone (henry sampson)

player piano (joseph ****inson)

pressing comb (walter sammons)

arm for recording player (joseph ****inson)

curtain rod (s.r. Scottron)

doorstop (o. Dorsey)

lawn sprinkler (j.w. Smith)

doorknob (o. Dorsey)

automatic gearshift (r.b. Spikes)

photo print wash (clatonia j. Dorticus)

urinalysis machine (dewey sanderson)

photo embossing machine (clatonia j. Dorticus)

hydraulic shock absorber (ralph sanderson)

postal letter box (p.b. Dowing)

refrigerator (j. Standard)

toilet t. Elkins mop (t.w. Stewart)

furniture caster (david a. Fisher)

stairclimbing wheelchair (rufus j. Weaver)

guitar (robert flemming ,jr)

helicopter (paul e. Williams)

golf tee (george f. Grant)

fire escape ladder (j.b. Winters motor j. Gregory)

telephone transmitter (granville t. Woods)

lantern (micheal harney)

electric cutoff switch (granville t. Woods)

thermo hair curlers (soloman harper)

relay instrument (granville t. Woods)

gas burner (b.f. Jackson)

telephone system (granville t. Woods)

kitchen table (h.a. Jackson)

galvanic battery (granville t. Woods)

video commander (joseph n. Jackson)

electric raillway system (granville t. Woods)

remote controllers (joseph n. Jackson)

roller coaster (granville t. Woods)

sani-phone (jerry johnson)

auto air brake (granville t. Woods)

and these are african american, am sure we in african have invented a lot but it hasnt been documented or developed countries took the idea and patented it

[fry]

Here's more research, who came up with the M-Pesa concept which the white man lauds but was too busy to think of? Research.

While you're at it, why is Prof. Obel's work villified in the white man's world?

@ poster, those comments belong to a 4th rate stand-up comedy in the middle of...let's see...Siberia.