Islam actually slows down scientific progress. The golden age is nothing more than Muslims taking credit for the swan song of conquered cultures. If anything, Islamic culture might be the second worst thing that happened to the middle east after the Mongol invasion. There are many hypotheses as to why Muslim-majority countries produce a disproportionately small share of world scientific output even today. The following paper was an interesting read: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/chaney/files/paper.pdf
>Most westerners don't realize that when Europeans were living in mud huts and emptying their chamber pots into the streets...
North Europeans were more advanced than you're giving them credit for. Different biomes open up different strategies and possibilities. You can't expect a city like Rome – marble and all – in ancient Scandinavia. But we found samples of skilled craftsmanship (nebra sky disk, waldalgesheimer fürstengrab) that go against the cartoon narrative you described.
>Most westerners don't realize that when Europeans were living in mud huts and emptying their chamber pots into the streets...
North Europeans were more advanced than you're giving them credit for. Different biomes open up different strategies and possibilities. You can't expect a city like Rome – marble and all – in ancient Scandinavia. But we found samples of skilled craftsmanship (nebra sky disk, waldalgesheimer fürstengrab) that go against the cartoon narrative you described.
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