On Science and the construction of identities: Remembering Ibn al-Haytham (965-1039)

Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039), best known as Alhazen, is one of the main figures of medieval Arabic science. He worked on mathematics, astronomy, optics, logic, philosophy and medicine, and, as a “modern” scientist, questioned previous theories, challenging, for instance, the Ptolemaic theory of vision. His works on light and optics, based on experimentation, established the basis for the development of Newton’s physics. Due to his great influence on the development of human knowledge, especially on the fields related to light, Ibn al-Haytham must be remembered during the commemorations of the United Nations International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015