Who was Alhazen?
Q: Who was Alhazen?
A: Alhazen (also known as Alhacen or ibn al-Haytham) was a pioneer of modern optics and is sometimes referred to as the "pioneer of the modern scientific method" and "first scientist". He was an Arab Muslim polymath who made contributions to many fields, including optics, anatomy, engineering, mathematics, medicine, ophthalmology, philosophy, physics, psychology, Muslim theology and visual perception.
Q: Where did Alhazen live?
A: Alhazen mainly lived in Cairo, Egypt. He died there at age 74.
Q: What did Alhazen's Risala fi’l-makan discuss?
A: Alhazen's Risala fi’l-makan discussed theories on the motion of a body. He maintained that a body moves perpetually unless an external force stops it or changes its direction of motion.
Q: What did Alhazen attempt to do for the Fatimid caliphate?
A: At one point he was ordered by the sixth ruler of the Fatimid caliphate (Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah) to regulate the floods of the Nile but he realized he could not do it and retired from engineering.
Q: How did Alhazen respond when he realized he couldn't complete his task for the Fatimid caliphate?
A: Fearing for his life due to his inability to complete his task for the Fatimid caliphate, he pretended to be mad and was placed under house arrest. For the rest of his life he devoted himself entirely to scientific work.
Q: What city was Alhazen born in?
A: He was born in Basra in Iraq (Mesopotamia), which is why he is sometimes called al-Basri (Arabic البصري).
