In the 3rd instalment of
the BBC: The Story of Maths, the episode focuses on the Northern part of the
world, the Europe. Different places were visited where each has its own
contribution to the world of mathematics.
After
addressing and laying the usefulness of mathematics in every aspect of the
society, it is now time to focus on the lives of the people who established the
world of numbers. In France, Marcus du Sautoy visited Urbino where he
introduced Piero della Francesca as one of the first mathematician who
appreciated and apply the concept of Perspective. He then visited Rene
Descartes hometown which was named after him. Some of the backgrounds of the
life that Descartes lives were mentioned such as his habit of staying in bed
until 11:00 am, a habit that helped him to discover and formulate ideas. One of
these was the realization that a curve line can be described by equations where
algebra and geometry can be linked together. He also mentioned Pierre de Fermat’s
theorem that became the basis for the codes that protect the credit cards, nowadays.
The
documentation shifted to the life of Isaac Newton which revealed that he was
not just a physicist but also a brilliant mathematician. He was a son of a poor
farmer who died at some point of Newton’s life where he acquired a stepfather
that developed him to be who he is today. One of the information that was interesting
was the mention of his average grades when he was in his early part of his
studies. There is always the impression that great minds, just like Newton who
started the idea of calculus, that are known today have always been the best in
everything but then, the information was personally shocking. Also, he was able
to cover the issue of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz ‘plagiarism’ of Newton’s idea
of calculus. In this part, Newton’s character as a person was revealed, but
still remained as a great physicist and mathematician until today. Some of the
other mathematicians that were mentioned are Bernouli, Euler, Gauss, Bolyai and
Riemann.
The episode was mainly showing
the lives and the controversies behind the world of mathematics. What bothers
me was the lack of recognition in some of the mathematicians who contributed
really great ideas. Generally, the movie was getting a bit dull. It may be because
of the same approach with every episode of the documentary. But still, the
movie was very informative and personal opinions of the host were expressed
such as his dissatisfaction with some of the ideas and views of the people he
interviewed.
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