During the Islamic Golden age the House of Wisdom would pay scholars the weight of translated books in gold.
Tomorrow is the start of #Ramadan and there is knowledge from that era I would very much like to see translated into @RoamResearch
Seems appropriate to pay w #BTC
🧵
Tomorrow is the start of #Ramadan and there is knowledge from that era I would very much like to see translated into @RoamResearch
Seems appropriate to pay w #BTC
🧵
Translation is a creative act.
It requires a deep deep understanding of the material you seek to translate, the language you are coming from, and language you are moving into.
If writing in your own words is a test of true understanding, translation takes it a step further.
It requires a deep deep understanding of the material you seek to translate, the language you are coming from, and language you are moving into.
If writing in your own words is a test of true understanding, translation takes it a step further.
The language of Roam is the language of data structures and thought patterns
The Research we conduct as a company is on the Geometry of Thought
Our goal is to build a medium that allows you to express and explore these shapes, more naturally and powerfully than you can on paper
The Research we conduct as a company is on the Geometry of Thought
Our goal is to build a medium that allows you to express and explore these shapes, more naturally and powerfully than you can on paper
And it is CLEAR that Islam has many beautiful shapes of thought that we can all learn a great deal from.
Now, our core team is still focused on things like performance, security, multiplayer and the broader extension ecosystem
but we still have important design questions that can only be answered in a [[Context of Serious Use]]
And if we’re funding outside scholars...
but we still have important design questions that can only be answered in a [[Context of Serious Use]]
And if we’re funding outside scholars...
Well, let’s just say that drawing inspiration from the Islamic Golden Age and Islam more broadly has served us well so far, and feels like a promising place to start
https://twitter.com/roamresearch/status/1250177943722057730
So, let’s get into the particular questions
1. Arabic is the holy language of Islam, but there are many translations of the Qu’ran — at least one on @RoamPublic, and commentary offering explanation and expansion of the text from the Prophet and others from his time.
1. Arabic is the holy language of Islam, but there are many translations of the Qu’ran — at least one on @RoamPublic, and commentary offering explanation and expansion of the text from the Prophet and others from his time.
As Roam is structured today, a translator could choose to represent the text in many ways
They could write every Ayah (verse) as its own block on a single page, and with Surahs (chapters) organised by tags and indentation
Or every Surah might have a page of its own.
They could write every Ayah (verse) as its own block on a single page, and with Surahs (chapters) organised by tags and indentation
Or every Surah might have a page of its own.
These choices feel arbitrary and artificial though
And if you try including and comparing Tafsir (interpretation) whether from the prophet or his companions, modern scholars, or just personal reflection from yourself or your friends, it gets... messy
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafsir
And if you try including and comparing Tafsir (interpretation) whether from the prophet or his companions, modern scholars, or just personal reflection from yourself or your friends, it gets... messy
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafsir
My sense is that there are things possible in Roam already, and still missing from Roam that could make the Qu’ran - and particularly the Taksir — far far more accessible and interactive
Even seeing possibilities will require a lot of exploration and care for the subject though.
Even seeing possibilities will require a lot of exploration and care for the subject though.
So, we have structure of Quran, connecting translations (line by line, word by word) and interlinking and remixing Taksir (ancient, modern, personal interpretation)
Challenges there generalise to every sacred text, maybe every influential book
The Hadith is just as interesting
Challenges there generalise to every sacred text, maybe every influential book
The Hadith is just as interesting
https://twitter.com/Conaw/status/1380115999869988867
Typos on a few above
that was Tafsir or tafseer
تفسير
Not Taksir
It’s been a looong time since I studied Arabic.
that was Tafsir or tafseer
تفسير
Not Taksir
It’s been a looong time since I studied Arabic.
Moving on - and getting to the point
my original idea was to restart #roamgames for Ramadan with this theme, and to do something like offer $1,000 a day in prizes - and match any donation that winners gave away as Sadaqah
But I feel like this is not something to be rushed
my original idea was to restart #roamgames for Ramadan with this theme, and to do something like offer $1,000 a day in prizes - and match any donation that winners gave away as Sadaqah
But I feel like this is not something to be rushed
Soon we’ll announcing a sort of “basic income” program, where we grant a handful of researchers (mostly designers and developers in Roam community) $1,000/month for 1 or 2 years in exchange for their working with the garage door open...
We could do something similar here...
We could do something similar here...
Answering these questions to their full potential will probably require a few small team - with a little custom css and js, you could very quickly build powerful custom interfaces
But the biggest challenge is editorial. Deciding what to include & how to translate it into a graph
But the biggest challenge is editorial. Deciding what to include & how to translate it into a graph
I’m not exactly sure how to run this project yet - I just know I want to put at least one Bitcoin towards this House of Wisdom project - 1 #btc is currently about $60,000 USD - and I want to have awarded that by the end of #Ramadan
So if you have suggestions - please share
So if you have suggestions - please share
Related - I want to bump up the number of kids and teachers in MENA getting free access to Roam via #RoamScholars this month - would love ideas here too — but you should respond rather than DM if possible because me DMs are not searchable or threadable
https://twitter.com/Conaw/status/1273417793359118336
Knock and the door will open.
https://twitter.com/RaefMusic/status/1380646030417526789
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