Please continue posting such links. I know some people would like only links about "hacking" (i.e. coding), but such articles really make me understand the "we are standing on the shoulders of giants" quote.
Especially about lesser advertised cultures such as the Islamic one.
I highly recommend picking up a book covering the history of invention and thought rather than waiting for such posts to hit meme status at random moments on HN.
Who said that I don't read those? Your reply is a bit condescending. The stages of learning include total ignorance, when you don't know that you don't know something (or that the thing you don't know would interest you). We're social animals for several reasons - one of them is that we can teach each other. HN is quite a knowledgeable community, so the advice/pointers are in general more useful than just random Google searches or sifting through Amazon reviews, for example.
Especially about lesser advertised cultures such as the Islamic one.