Ptolemy And The Foundations Of Ancient Mathematical Optics

Virtually all survey-accounts of ancient science leave the mistaken impression that ancient ray-theory shared the same basic aims and methods as its modern counterpart and, therefore, that the two are genetically linked. The source of confusion lies in the fact that, for the sake of simplicity and brevity, textbook authors emphasize those aspects of Greek ray-analysis that seem most innovative and forward-thinking. Viewed in this way, Greek ray-theory looks very much like its modern countrpart. …