For the scientific advances we all enjoy, we can thank India. They contributed zero. The number zero.
Until Arabic numerals, including zero, were invented, the Western world used Roman numerals, which were cumbersome for doing math:
Imagine how difficult it would have been to conduct business, much less create complex formulas for physics.
Mughal invaders took the new numeral system back to Central Asia. Then Arab invaders took it back to the Middle East. From there it reached Europe in time to form the foundations of the technology revolution.
Why does this matter? Because intercultural borrowing is crucial to progress. And basic knowledge might be more useful than specific inventions. For example, Japan benefited far more from borrowing the Total Quality Management System than they did from borrowing the transistor.
Do you have the humility to borrow ideas and practices from others?
Do you expose yourself to foreign cultures?
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