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Ibn al-Haytham and optics
He demanded that theories be tested against experiment
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The *Book of Optics* describes systematic controlled experiments and is widely reckoned the first genuinely scientific methodological text. He wrote that whoever seeks truth must distrust everything he reads, the ancient masters included. The work was translated into Latin and directly influenced Roger Bacon, Kepler and Descartes.
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The Greeks believed the eye sent out rays. Ibn al-Haytham showed that light enters the eye rather than leaving it, using experiments with darkened rooms and small holes. He insisted that claims be tested rather than taken on authority.
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Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org