Algebra's Arabic Roots

The second part of Percy Fawcett's story delves into his fascination with a document known as Manuscript 512 and how it impacted his life. His obsession led to his disappearance; there has been endless speculation about what exactly happened. Research: Biello, David. “Ancient Ama ...  Show more

Fawcett’s life has invited controversy and speculation, because he was a man who did a mix of great and shady things. Part one covers his early life, marriage, military service, and early visits to South America. Research: Biello, David. “Ancient Amazon Actually Highly Urbanized. ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the flourishing of maths in the early Islamic world, as thinkers from across the region developed ideas in places such as Baghdad's House of Wisdom. Among them were the Persians Omar Khayyam, who worked on equations, and Al-Khwarizmi, latinised as ...  Show more

In medieval Baghdad, there was a particular focus on two elements of knowledge expansion: recording existing principles, and further expanding on this knowledge through experimentation. Al-Mahani represents a key figure in this transitional period of scholarship, translating a ...

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Central Asian polymath al-Biruni and his eleventh-century book the India.Born in around 973 in the central Asian region of Chorasmia, al-Biruni became an itinerant scholar of immense learning, a master of mathematics, medicine, astronomy an ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Central Asian polymath al-Biruni and his eleventh-century book the India.Born in around 973 in the central Asian region of Chorasmia, al-Biruni became an itinerant scholar of immense learning, a master of mathematics, medicine, astronomy an ...  Show more