The third episode of the
documentary series “Story of Maths” discusses about the explosion of
mathematical ideas during the 17th to 19th centuries. From the discovery of
negative numbers and infinity in the Middle East, we were brought to Europe
which had been booming with unprecedented mathematicians that provided concepts
and made huge contributions to the subject. Eventually, the study of math takes
unto new perspectives of understanding the world; learning about geometry of
objects at a certain time and space.
Perceiving motion with the help
of mathematics was not only the focus of these periods. In the documentary, the
host (Marcus du Sautoy) surveys the work of Rene Descartes, whom we owe the discovery
of Analytic Geometry and Isaac Newton’s invention of Calculus. Coincidentally,
another important mathematician in the name of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz had
also developed his own way of doing it. Though this controversy had been root of
arguments as to whom should we account the origin of Calculus, it is Leibniz’s notations
that are most widely used today. Moreover, Pierre Fermat’s Last Theorem has
puzzled mathematicians for hundreds of years. And in the 19th
century, a young yet pure genius of both science and math named Carl Friedrich
Gauss invented a new way of handling equations. What's more in the documentary is that we can get a glimpse of their characteristics,
personal profiles and way of living.
It’s not surprising why the
laypeople think that mathematics has originated from the West, since this was the
hometown of famous mathematicians. Correspondingly, their theories are basis
for the applications of math to our societies today. This is why we look up to
them like celebrities, their names written and mentioned in uncountable books
and references.
So far in the series, this is the
one I have liked the most. The previous episodes were information feeding about
the history of math (Recall: The Language of the Universe and Genius of the
East), that I could not believe I haven’t known despite passing the subject for
10 and ½ years of schooling! This third episode, on the other hand, was good in
a sense that I found myself attached to each scene for there is much
information to be interested about. And I almost forgot I am watching a math
documentary.
To know about the life of
mathematicians is equivalent to understanding further about their works. What
amazed me most is that many of them had lived a simple life but with a boundless
passion for mathematics. They continue to do calculations wherever they are and even think within their dreams. Their serious attachment to the subject including
inborn intelligence had overcome their thirst for knowledge. This is why in
spite of their deaths; they have left legacies that continue to intensify up to
the current 21st century. Hence, this episode is dedicated to them –
The Frontiers of Space.
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