Movie Review: The Story of Maths-The Genius of the East

“The power of mathematics is to make sense of the impossible.”

            The Story of Maths is a video series of explaining how mathematics came to be. The second installment of the series explains that mathematics is a continuing evolution and has been a knowledge not only for western civilizations but also in the east. In this video it explains that the basis of our number systems today are greatly influenced by the mathematics of the east.

            Ancient civilizations (western and eastern) approached the emergence of mathematics because they need its existence- daily activities like trade and farming. The only difference between the western and eastern mathematics is that the eastern mathematics are more efficient and easier to understand. Ancient Chinese mathematics is the first emergence of the decimal system which is akin to our modern mathematics. Mathematics contributed by the ancient Chinese made it easier to count and calculate. Like many civilizations, ancient Chinese used mathematics in developing their empire. The Chinese were drawn to patterns and number that in this civilizations is where they learned to solve through equations. However, like the western civilizations, Chinese mathematics had no concept of zero. It is only in India that the emergence of our number system we use today developed.

Source: http://differenttogether.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/comic-strip-melting-pot-black-characters-discuss-asian-stereotypes/

Maybe the reason why (most) Asians are great at math is because we (kind of) invented it.

Western civilization mathematics is more aligned towards getting through the day. The concepts of their mathematics are greatly materialized like the pyramids. However the eastern civilization, particularly the Indians, dwelled more on the abstraction of math. For Indians, Mathematics is an abstract entity. They have a life of their own. Because of this concept, it paved way to the concepts of infinity, negative numbers and also the beginning of trigonometry.

            The second installment of the Story of Maths deals more on the history of our modern mathematics based on the discoveries of the eastern civilizations. It is astonishing to have known that the birth of modern mathematics have been developed by the east. Also, from the materialistic kind of mathematics to have transformed it to an abstract thought is also a great invention. This allows us to think beyond the irregularities of the physical shapes we see in our world. It is through this abstraction that many technologies like computers and cars are developed. Although the evolution of math, many of us (like me) still find it difficult to understand the nature of mathematics. However, if without the development of the eastern civilization of what we know now as our modern number system, I might not have been able to write this review and this blog may not have ever existed.