This should be interesting:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gksx4It's on the 5th, 6th and 7th of Jan, so I'll get to see it before I have to fuck off back to Germany. I wonder how they're going to tackle it? From this excerpt from the linked page, I think it may be another fawning wankfest:
"
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".
I do hope they cover the Al-jahiz's
Kitab-al Hayawan -- should give the Afadlys of this world something to mull over...
And I
do hope they'll also cover the points brought up by this video:
[youtube]gcSXwPsgLhE[/youtube]
(Also posted at ATT).