J'arrive, Europe!

After knowing about the great mathematical innovations of the east, it's time to head North! I'm coming, Europe! I'm going to ask you to forgive me if this runs too long, but I honestly really can't contain it. There are just so many things I have to say and re-tell. :-)

Many different Mathematical concepts were already discovered and developed from the nations and civilizations that we have encountered from the past two documentary films. But the journey does not stop there. In this one, the Mathematical discoveries seemed to have revolved around a new circle, which gave this episode its edge.

As the film was just starting, we were all greeted with a strange music that I think was from the Renaissance period. In the first few minutes of the documentary, Marcus talked about perspectives for a short time and what really caught my attention was when the Flagellation of Christ by Piero della Francesca was mentioned. He was a mathematician and an artist and I have encountered him before (not personally, of course) when I and some of my friends took the AH5 class last semester. It was a class about the appreciation of art and its history. I did not know then that he was the first one to use the concept of perspectives in his art works. Perspectives led to an advanced Mathematical revolution that enables us to view a different world. I was amazed when Marcus brought the artwork to us instead, since he wasn't able to gain access to it for some reasons. The cool effects were really giving life to the film.

Our journey led us first to France, where we met Descartes, who was a brave young lad who fought for many troops. It was said that his bedtime meditations really helped him on his mathematical discoveries. This was the time where his mind worked only for Math. If I were to do something like that, that just won't work for me. I'd probably fall asleep in a minute. Haha. When he transferred to Holland, Algebra and Geometry started to merge because of him. It became a language to understand each other. Though he really contributed a lot to Mathematics, it was sad to know that he was not really a nice kind of person because he only cared about himself. Oh well.. There really are people who are like that. I was also amazed by Mersenne, a Parisian monk who both believed in God and Mathematics. I don't think these two are both contrasting beliefs, but we all know there are certainly issues between both of these beliefs to some people. And I think Mersenne was really dedicated to both that he did not let those issues lead him to give up one of the two.. When he publicized the findings of Pierre de Fermat, Pierre became known and is now behind the Modern Theory. It was mentioned in the documentary that battling Mathematical problems was his idea of a fun time. Even when he was just sitting and even when praying, he was solving problems. Oh boy, now that's what you call dedication. Marcus, the host, went on a festival of Math and that part was really funny because he said he was surprised to see gladiators and camels which had nothing to do with Math at all! He also solved the puzzle that was given to him. You know, sometimes I forget that the host of this documentary is also a mathematical genius in his own magnificent way.

Our next stop was Britain - the land of the smoking hot British boys. Also where the famous universities of Oxford and Cambridge are situated. The famous Isaac Newton was mentioned. I did not know he was involved in Math. He's well-known because of gravity and in every TV show/movie that mentions about Science, he is the one almost always mentioned. He is part of why Calculus exists right now, explaining the constant change in our world.

When I heard the word rival, pertaining to Leibniz, I thought that he was somehow the 'bad guy' here. But you know what? I thought wrong. Leibniz was the reason why Newton got interested again in Math after being distracted with the rest of his interests. Leibniz worked only for two months and created mathematical breakthroughs in Differential and Integral Calculus. It was sad that he wasn't as famous as Newton, but I can still say that he still excelled in his own way and he deserves to be known by a lot of people. He also contributed to Philosophy and Logic and even discovered Binary numbers that are now a very important Mathematical tool. Another good thing about him was, he really liked to share his discoveries and inventions to other people because he was really passionate about what he was doing. Newton, for some reason did not want to share and spread his. This was the reason why people knew about Calculus from Leibniz first. Isaac first discovered it, but Leibniz did not know this and the same goes for Newton, who did not think another man would discover what he knew. Their individual intellect brought them both to Calculus. The difference was that Leibniz published what he discovered and Newton did not. This caused a commotion so the Royal Society of London weighed in on what's the proper thing to do. However, the society accused Leibniz of plagiarism on their final judgment. The reason behind this got me really enraged. It was because the president of the society that time was Isaac Newton himself. Whoa. Leibniz was really hurt. Of course, he should be! Imagine all his efforts and just ended up being accused of stealing someone's work. This wasn't what he deserved! It was a good thing that Leibniz was known in Math than Newton despite this. Like Marcus, I'm now a fan of Leibniz and I agree on what he said, that Leibniz was the one who really captured the true spirit of Calculus.

When we reached the heart of Europe in Basel, Switzerland, the Bernoullis were introduced. They were outstanding mathematicians who even though did not get along well, they all have the same admiration for Leibniz and defended him against the believers of Newton who criticized him. If I were a Bernoulli during their time, I would have definitely done what they did. I found it funny though when the latest member of the Bernoullis whom Marcus interviewed, said that people are reaching out to him to attempt to get help for Calculus, but unfortunately he has no Math gene so he could not help. Haha!

In St. Petersburg, Leonhard Euler found his intellectual home. He also contributed a lot to Mathematics. Seriously, these guys are just so awesome. Everything that was in their brain was all about Math, Math and Math. I can't live like that. They really are geniuses! A school was even dedicated to Euler with a class solely dedicated for him! Oooh. I was again amazed by Marcus when he corrected something from the board. Next was Germany, where Gausse was introduced. He was recognized because he was the first to explain about imaginary numbers very clearly. He even questioned Euclid's Geometry but never published anything because he knew that the Euclidian Geometry was widely accepted and was too afraid of all the negative reactions he might receive. Transylvania followed, and Bolyai was mentioned. His first love according to Marcus was, I can't believe I'm saying this, Math! Wow, this boy was passionate! Haha. This makes me wonder if how many people from our generation experience this kind of passion for Mathematics right now? Hmm.. Bolyai was known for Hyperbolic Geometry. It was just sad that he didn't get to hear about the praises of Gausse and other people on his work and never got the chance to publish it because someone had already published it two years earlier.

Gausse supported a mathematician named Riemman. When Riemann was losing sense of his life, Math gave him a reason to live. Another unbelievable and amazing story! This just keeps getting better and better, eh? Anyway, he was known for his lecture on the Foundations of Geometry. He tackled about many dimensions, not just only two nor three and his imagination contributed a lot to this.

The Golden Age of Maths produced a lot of inventions and innovations that let us see the world in a much wider field of vision. The many discoveries continue to lead to greater achievements. All for the purpose of improving our skills of thinking and analyzing the ways of daily life.

I'm left speechless after watching this. Not because I was bored (which is almost likely the reason why I'm speechless after watching a documentary), but because I was  amazed. REALLY AMAZED by all of the mathematicians I have known since the first part of the series and by the rich history of Mathematics that really changed the world. These people are really inspiring us to be the best in our chosen field. I know now the deeper reason why this documentary series was introduced to us.. The different mathematicians mentioned started out just like normal kids with normal dreams, but because of their perseverance, willingness, efforts and sharp minds, they have created a great mark in history that people from every generation will always admire and look back on.

To be honest, I'm quite sad that we're about to finish this docu-series. One more part left.. Also, I liked this one more than the previous two episodes. I still can't believe I really enjoyed learning about the history of Mathematics! Not only did Marcus take us to a lot of wonderful places, but he also opened our minds to a lot of great things. Whew, time to end this.. Can't wait for the next one! :-D