It's Science Jim But Not As We Know It

It's not often that I look at a man and think mmm, you look rather nice. The chap in view was absolute eye candy!! Not only tall dark and handsome but he's a professor so he has a brain as well. Last night physicist Jim Al-Khalili was presenting 'Science and Islam' on BBC 4. He traveled through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain telling the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries. Its legacy is tangible, with terms like algebra, algorithm and alkali all being Arabic in origin and at the very heart of modern science - there would be no modern mathematics or physics without algebra, no computers without algorithms and no chemistry without alkalis. For Baghdad-born Jim Al-Khalili this was also a personal journey and on his travels he uncovers a diverse and outward-looking culture, fascinated by learning and obsessed with science. From the great mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, who did much to establish the mathematical tradition we now know as algebra, to Ibn Sina, a pioneer of early medicine whose Canon of Medicine was still in use as recently as the 19th century, he pieces together a remarkable story of the often-overlooked achievements of the early medieval Islamic scientists. His Father is Iraqi and his Mother English.

Posted via email from Liz's Posterous