He doesn't seem to know who brought the alphabet to Europe...

The Arab world hasn't been a major force in science or literature for a while, but if you go back a couple of centuries:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age

The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural flourishing in the history of Islam, dated from the 8th century CE to the 14th century.[1][2][3][n 1] The period is understood to have begun during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (786–809), with the establishment of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, one of the world's largest cities at the time. The institution attracted scholars from across the Muslim world to translate the classical knowledge of the known world into Arabic.[4] In addition to Baghdad, the intellectual and cultural activity also flourished in other urban centers of the medieval Islamic world, including Cairo, and Umayyad Córdoba (capital of Al-Andalus), as well as Damascus, Nishapur, Samarkand, Ghazni, Kairouan, and Fez,[5] and in later centuries, Nasrid Granada.

The period is said to have ended with the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate following the Mongol invasions and the Siege of Baghdad in 1258.[6][7] Select scholars extend the end of the golden age to around 1350, thereby including the Timurid Renaissance.[8][9] Others extend it to the 15th century, including the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, whose court remained an important centre of scholarship, culture and literature, or even to the 16th century, incorporating the rise of the Islamic gunpowder empires.[10][1][2][3]

The Phoenicians?

So what if it's not currently the major force? Last year's Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry was Jordanian, for example.

To be completely honest, RFK is saying exactly that: the cultural output of the Arab world stagnated. I disagree completely with the why (Muslim brotherhood), but it is true the output in the sciences is not the same as during the golden age.

What an ass-hat, they basically started it all.

Coming from someone who is about as bright as the inside of a black hole, sounds about right for worm brain.

Just written language, math, and the basic foundation of scientific advancement. Without those things, the brain worm might have prevented us from having to deal with him.

Who do you think the Phoenicians were? Do you think a sea faring people wouldn't have picked up different nationalities? That's why racism is so stupid.

On the original point:

Mathematics during the Golden Age of Islam, especially during the 9th and 10th centuries, was built upon syntheses of Greek mathematics (Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius) and Indian mathematics (Aryabhata, Brahmagupta). Important developments of the period include extension of the place-value system to include decimal fractions, the systematised study of algebra and advances in geometry and trigonometry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world

Maybe if they weren't fucked with for so long by foreign interests that only care about profits and control then they would have been able to produce more and prosper

Last I heard the amount of literature in Arabic is similar to what is available in Danish.
Arabic has 400 million native speakers, Danish has 6 million.

It's not like Arabic speaking countries are without literature or science, but they aren't as rich in it as they should be considering the number of people speaking the language.

The point is that Arabic countries only represent 1-2% of what they "should" in modern science and literature compared to the size of the language. 1500 years ago however, they were the leaders of the world.
IDK but I think it's fair to say that something went wrong for the Arab speaking countries at some point in the past 1500 years. So they now are culturally and scientifically behind when they used to be ahead.

All right, but aside from written language, math and basic foundation of scientific advancement, what have the Arabs ever done for us?!

My issue with describing it as “not contributing to the sciences” by comparing it to the golden age is that it ignores the baseline scientific work that Arab PhDs, postdocs, and professors do contribute. I mean, the entire Iranian sanction thing right now is throwing a knot into the US university research systems that do allow foreign students and professors to participate, and much of their tuition dollars go towards student assistance for residential students. Just because it is not a bit new thing in science, does not mean that Arabs do not contribute to sciences.

Yeah, petrochemical wars.

Ask him to count to….. let’s make it easy for him and say, four. Then tell him he just Arab’d. Then sit back and watch the mental gymnastics as he tries to undo generations surge of history.

I’m pretty sure he’s just three lizards in a leather sack.

Absolutely that has made things worse, but religious fundamentalism hasn't helped either.
We had that too in Europe, but while Europe progressed the Arab countries seemed to stagnate, and even double down on it.
But I'm not a historian, there may be other reasons, I'm just not aware what they might be?

Shut up piggy worm boy, the only thing you produce is vitriol.

The folks who invented the zero in mathematics over here (not me, the folks in Mesopotamia).

algebra chemistry alcohol

Rfk knows one of those words.
But he doesn't know they're Arabic words.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:English_terms_derived_from_Arabic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Arabic_origin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_modern_Arab_scientists_and_engineers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pre-modern_Arab_scientists_and_scholars

Or liquor

Aqueducts…?

These people think all Muslims are terrorists then they randomly just say shit like this. I guess if we assume they believe the things they say, they're trying to be martyrs?

Ah I didn't know chemistry was one

Edit: nm I forgot -- alchemy!

alphabet

posts stuff about algebra

He thinks autism is caused by vaccines and/or over-the-counter painkillers. Frankly, I'd be shocked if he had anything halfway sane to say about Arabs.

You sayin' they did zero? Nothin', eh? Wow, what losers!

;-)

Maybe the Danish just won't shut the fuck up (in writing)

Water you even saying?

"Do you think our children should be taught Arabic numerals?" and then watch the shit hit the fan.

I want to explain Arabic numerals to him
Just to ruin his entire life.

He will say they originated in India to be a smartass.

Motherfucker the Arabs invented algebra.

I guess? But the real take away here is that he's completely ignorant of how many modern disciplines are of Arabic, or derived from Arabic origins.

Math is woke.

Didn't they literally invent zero?

Do you really think he knows about India? No, not indigenous Americans... NO, not Indiana either!

He won't get it

Your humor is so dry

That was a painful watch.

But lets break this down:

His argument is that hatred, war, and victimization cause a reduction in contribution to science and literature.

You asshole, quit pointing your fingers at others and start cleaning up your own damn house.

This is the more accurate take based on what he actually croaked out, which is that the "Muslim Brotherhood" (a term I'm sure he's using suuuuper precisely) has killed off their culture of learning. It's still utter garbage and extremely racist and glosses over the role that America and the rest of the west had in making a creating an environment where extremism and autocracy can ascend.

He also conveniently overlooks that his own boss has embraced authoritarianism, enabled backwards religious zealotry, and triggered a war on literature and science like the US has never seen. "Y'all Qaeda" indeed.

1500 years ago, they were disjointed nomadic tribes living in the desert.

What I assume you're referring to is maybe 1000 years ago, when they had the largest and most advanced civilization in the world.

You can look up the Baghdad University, the Cairo University, or Andalusian Spain for more info.

To be fair, the first time someone said this I was like "Wha--? oh. Right." then thought it was hilarious. lol

I want to make a joke about you making me moist, but instead I'll just make a reference to making that joke as I think it's less painful. lol. I get to make the joke AND have it not be quite as awkward. :)

Yeah, but that requires half a (non-worm-chewed) brain

I suspect, to be honet, the same people who would sign the petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide to fall for it. heh

Don't worry... I'll make it awkward

If by awkward you mean awesome :)

They invented a lot of math, including algebra and Arabic numerals (0123456789); so in that sense they gave us 0. However, the concept of 0 was independently invented many times; and as I understand it, the Arabs got the idea of 0 from the Hindus. Europe then got 0 from the Arabs.