Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Problems Solved

The story of Maths Part I elucidates math as a universal language. It is true that not everyone appreciates math but little do they know that from the moment they woke up they had already used the principles of math until they go back again to bed. Math is used everywhere and is used all over the globe which makes math a common necessity to all. Unfortunately not everyone is able to know its great significance. It is pleasing to know that there are people who are concern regarding this matter and had done a great effort in educating people in a critical and enjoyable way.

In the start of the movie the host Marcus du Sautoy explained how fundamental math is in our lives. After which he talked about the three civilizations that had great contributions and impacts in the field of mathematics. The three civilizations were ancient Egypt (Egyptian), Mesopotamia (Babylonian) and Greece (Greek) respectively.

He told the history of mathematics in Egypt how it was economically important for the Egyptians to know the different flooding patterns of the river Nile. There was also a need for them to solve some practical problems. Those were just some of the factors that had lead them to use the number system base ten, decimal system, fractions and the pyramid.

After the vast background about Egypt he then went to the Mesopotamian Civilization, the Babylonian. He learned and imparted that the way we tell the time nowadays is based on the Babylonian’s number system base sixty and he showed that Babylonians discovered the quadratic equations to measure their lands.
Finally Greece, it is where most of the well-known Mathematicians were born; Pythagoras, Plato, Euclid and Archimedes. Those people were the ones who had changed Mathematics from a simple tool of counting to a more critical and analytical subject.

The movie or program was arranged in a chronological order on how math had evolved during the ancient times which enables the viewers to connect and to understand what the movie is basically trying to depict or impart. The introduction of the movie was able to catch the viewer’s attention easily because the host mentioned the connection of math and the viewer’s daily lives. The three different civilizations being mentioned in a stimulating manner was useful so that viewers would be more interested with each civilization and not easily get bored and tired with just a single revolving topic. However, the voice of the host wasn’t that clear because of his British accent which had causes some to misunderstand what he was saying and had caused boredom to some viewers.  


The story of Maths Part I had lead the viewers to a vast and deeper understanding of Mathematics. It thought the viewers how important math is and how math is widely used all over the world. The movie was able to instill to the viewers that most  phenomenon that humans could not explain through words are answerable by mathematics.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Ivy! I totally agree with you there. It did lead me to a deeper understanding of mathematics. Nice blog!:)

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