Ibn al-Haytham and the origins of modern image analysis

Abstract

The noted science historian, David Lindberg, wrote that "Alhazen was undoubtedly the most significant figure in the history of optics between antiquity and the seventeenth century." Impressive and accurate as this characterization of Ibn al-Haytham (Latinized as Alhazen or Alhacen) is, it significantly understates the impact he had on areas as diverse as the theology, literature, art, and science of Europe. The work on computerized image analysis that I discuss elsewhere at this conference can be rightfully seen as the latest link in an unbroken chain that connects 21 st century optical scientists with our intellectual progenitor, Ibn al-Haytham; a span of almost 1000 years.Although records indicate al-Haytham wrote nearly one hundred works, many have not survived, and today he is primarily known for his writings on geometrical optics, astronomy, and mathematics. However, it is with his landmark seven-volume Kitāb al-Manāzir [Book of Optics], published sometime between 1028 [418 A.H.] and 1038 [429 A.H.] that he made his most important contribution to the culture as well as the science of Medieval and Renaissance Europe. In my estimation, his contribution to the development of Western thought of the period is comparable to that of those prototypical Renaissance figures Giotto, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.Prior to al-Haytham, theories of vision could be classified into one of three categories: extramission, intromission, or a combination of the two. Extramission theories required some sort of illuminating particles be emitted by the eye. Euclid is one well-known scholar associated with this category of theory. Although there are obvious flaws with extramission theories, they do get the geometry right, with a one-to-one correspondence between points on the object and points on the eye. To elaborate one important connection between al-Haytham and western scholarship, Euclidian geometry, as influenced by alHaytham's writings, is taught in every American and European school to this day.Intromission theories of vision, with Aristotle as a prominent proponent, had objects continuously sloughing off replicas of themselves that then traveled to the eye of the observer. These theories avoided one obvious problem of extramission, that of near and far objects simultaneously being visible the moment the eye is opened, but at the expense of introducing other difficulties. Plato was a proponent of a combination of these theories, having light from a source like the sun, along with some sort of shortrange emission from the eye, activate the air to let replicas travel to the viewer. Figure 1 Ibn al-Haytham's description of the human visual system. From a 1083 [475 A.H.] copy of his Kitāb al-Manāzir in the Süleymaniye Library, Istanbul.The genius of Ibn al-Haytham was not that he recognized there were problems with all existing theories of vision, since others before him had realized this as well. His genius lay in the fact that he found the solution that had eluded the best minds of antiquity. In addition, he...

Medieval Arab Contributions to Optics

“…His work was republished in Latin in 1572, following the advent of the printing press, and is explicitly referenced in the writings on optics by Johannes Kepler, Snell, Fermat (1601–1665), and several others. The other scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) and Isaac Newton (1643–1727), also benefited from his theories in optics and other fields (Falco, ; Hockney et al, ; Kwan et al, , ; Rashed, ). Ibn al‐Haytham not only had direct influence on the development of European science, theology and literature, but also an indirect influence on art as revealed in recent discoveries (Falco, ; Hockney et al, ).…”

“…The other scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) and Isaac Newton (1643–1727), also benefited from his theories in optics and other fields (Falco, ; Hockney et al, ; Kwan et al, , ; Rashed, ). Ibn al‐Haytham not only had direct influence on the development of European science, theology and literature, but also an indirect influence on art as revealed in recent discoveries (Falco, ; Hockney et al, ). To date, an asteroid has been named Asteroid 59239 Alhazen in his honor, as has Crater Alhazen on the moon, which lies near the eastern rim of the moon's near side: Latitude: 15.9°N and Longitude: 71.8°E (Salih, al‐Amri, & el‐Gomati, ).…”