[WRhine]

One of those key ideas was openness to other cultures and civilizations. The West didn't take the NIH (not invented here) attitude some places took and thrived.

Most of the intermingling of peoples in Europe during that time was with other western civilizations. You are mixing apples and oranges on the false assumption that all cultures are created equal. We see none of this in the animal kingdom. Why would it not be the same for humans?

[garbanzo]

Look up the etymology of the word "algebra" and the word "zero" along with words like "azimuth" - vitally important concepts in the development of Western science and mathematics. Also take a look at your keyboard and note the lack of Roman numerals on the top row.