"The Genius of the East"

The story of maths part II articulates the contributions of different geniuses from the East in the field of mathematics. Mathematics had evolved through time in various ways from different cultures. Many great civilizations prospered because of the way they had applied mathematics in their society. Most of these great and well-known civilizations were found in the eastern part of the world. This information is familiar to all but because many are not that interested in history only few are able to know the real story behind each contributing civilization. The story of maths part II was able to disseminate the information about how each great civilization from the east had contributed in the field of mathematics.

In this movie the host, Marcus du Sautoy took a journey in four civilizations in the East that had greatly contributed in mathematics namely; China, India, Middle East and Italy. He started the movie by visiting China where he examined how they had applied mathematics in their Empire to prosper. He explained how they had used the principles of mathematics in building the Great Wall of China. Their empire also was the one who had first used the decimal place number system. Since their empire was fascinated with number patterns they had develop the ancient version of Sudoku and their belief in mystical powers of number which were still believed by many today. Marcus also has discovered that the success of how the Emperor slept his way through the imperial harem was because of mathematics

He then went to India where he had discovered how the symbol of the number zero was invented which was one of the great breakthroughs in mathematics. He also had learned that the concept of infinity, negative numbers and trigonometry were from their civilization.

 Afterwards, he again travelled to Middle East., where he examined the different mathematical developments their civilization had. He discovered the invention and development of algebra in their society and how they had arrived to a solution of the cubic equations.

The movie ended when Marcus visited Italy, it is where he learned that the spread of the knowledge of mathematics was from East to the West through the means of a mathematician such as Leonardo Fibonacci who was said to be accountable of the famous Fibonacci sequence.

The movie shows more than what was expected by the viewers; an account of the contribution of different civilization/ empires in the field of mathematics. The running time of the movie was justifiable to what was seen in the movie because the important details the movie needs to impart were presented properly. The huge contribution of each civilization/ empire to the world of mathematics was essential to the movie for it proves and shows how greatly the East had contributed. Interesting facts like the formation of the symbol zero, decimal number system, Trigonometry, Algebra and how mathematics from the East had been passed on to the West were of great help in inhibiting the viewers from getting bored. The whole movie itself was an entertaining way to learn the history of mathematics. The story of Maths part II had leaded the viewers to a deep appreciation of the intellects from the East. This movie had broadened the knowledge of each viewer about the history of mathematics in a comprehensive way.