I don’t think it’s sweeter the second time around, Math

                           Yes, you read it right. This is my second time doing this. And if the idea is still blurry and absurd to you,  I just wanna let you know that this is the second time I’m gonna write my thoughts about this movie, because I lost the one I made in the weekend.  I wrote it with all my heart, but it was lost in my computer. It’s really devastating. Let me apologize for this nonsense introduction, it’s just, it hurts a lot. Hahaha. But anyway, I would try my best to relate my views regarding the movie.

                         Well, well, well, where would I begin?  It was a fine Wednesday or Friday morning as we sat in front of an LCD projector. The movie was about to start and everybody seems to be so serious.  And there it was, the opening salvo of the movie installments of The Story of Maths featuring ‘The Genius of the East’. The host was obviously standing in ‘The Great Wall of China’, and so we already had an idea as to where our journey this time would start. He started telling about how the ancient Chinese people exhibited their knowledge about Math through their exquisite architectural designs in that famous landmark. Before watching this film, the thing that we commonly relate with the Chinese in relation to Math is their invention of abacus. I thought their contribution to this science ends there, but I was wronged. It was the Chinese, if I’m not mistaken, has the first published book for Math. They were the ones who discovered how to solve equations as well as the discovery of the decimal value. Knowing Chinese, we know that they believe in luck and stuff like that. When it comes to numbers, their beliefs were also applied. In fact, they believe that the number 8 is lucky while 4 is not. Qin Jiushao, one important mathematician, also applied math in the study of astronomy. Lots of theories and concepts originally created by the Chinese, was later on discovered by Isaac Newton in 17^th century.  Their overall mathematics contribution for math was okay, but they lack a single element. It was the nothing symbol, or simply, zero.

                  This missing entity was filled in by the Hindu or the Indians. They invented zero. In fact, they worship zero. They had this some kind of religion wherein they belief in nothingness. As a believer, it was kinda weird. But oh well, let’s proceed. Oh, right! They were also the ones that who invented the negative numbers. Some say this is because of their lending businesses. They also invented trigonometry and through this knowledge they were able to estimate the distance of the sun and the moon from the Earth. Last but not the least; they were also the ones who invented the Pi value, which we commonly used in solving the area and perimeter of the circle.

                 Okay, let’s go know to the Islamic empire. From what I remember they have this famous place called the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Sadly, I was in the c.r. when it was streaming so I haven’t watch the whole description of that landmark. All I know is that they were the ones who invented algebra. Meaning, they were responsible for all our sufferings back then. Hahaha. Just kidding. Anyway, I still thank them for simplifying our lives. They were the ones who modified the number system we currently use now. It is called the Hindu-Arabic symbol. It was originally from Hindu, but they were the ones who modified it.

        Finally, I’m done. So, what can I say? I like the things I’ve learned so far. My general knowledge has been enriched. And one thing more, from this movie and the last I was able know how brilliant our ancestors are. The way the science of math developed in our world was indeed very beautiful to learn. Looking forward to the next installments of the series.