Math In The Movies · Jun 21, 02:14 AM
posted by Dr. Jon Breitenbucher
Here are some great movies that include math as fundamental elements in the plot. These are especially good to watch during Math month:
A Beautiful Mind
The story is about John Nash and his painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery. It covers Nash’s receipt of the Nobel prize from his days at Princeton, where he developed a groundbreaking economic theory, his meteoric rise to the cover of Forbes magazine and an MIT professorship, and on through to his eventual dismissal due to schizophrenic delusions.Why you should see this: Winner of four Academy Awards and a biography about a renowned mathematician.
π
π is a science fiction film about an aloof ``genius’’ who believes that mathematics is the language of nature, and pursues the fundamental formula for it. He finds the golden spiral occurring everywhere, including in an analysis of the stock exchange which he is carrying out. A number of mysterious people become interested in his research, including a Go-playing mathematician who seems his mentor, a woman from a Wall Street firm with access to powerful new computer hardware, and a group of kabbalistic Jews who believe that the Torah, when represented as numbers instead of letters, contains the true name of God.Why you should see this: It has the title π and it’s a pretty good movie.
Infinity
As a young boy, Richard was fascinated with science and objects in motion. This wonderment was reinforced through the efforts of his father. The only thing that mattered as much as science, and his family, was Arline, whom he met when they were both in school. But fate can often be cruel and Arline is found to be stricken by Tuberculosis. Undaunted, Richard studies the disease as he studies science in hopes of curing her. When her disease is in remission, they marry and he proceeds on to college where his studies and the war lead him to Los Alamos to work on the Manhattan Project. While Richard is intrigued with the solution to the project, he is also concerned with the outcome and saddened with the failing health of Arline.Why you should see this: To see the best mathematical fighting scene! Richard Feynman has a calculating duel with a guy with an abacus. Feynman, using pencil and paper, adds a bit slower, but multiplies slightly faster, and really whips him in the cube root competition. Afterward, he explains it all to his fianceé.
Thanks to the Math in the Movies page for these suggestions and the Internet Movie Database for great reviews.
Association of
America