Monday 6 October 2008

The Story of Maths

Tonight, I got excited. I got excited because a programme called 'The Story of Maths' was on. I like maths, I am fascinated by it and I loathe myself for not taking it at A Level (it was, I'll admit out of pure fear of inadequacy and thus failure so I did easy things instead). I got yet more excited when I found cool things out about the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians who discovered and used a lot of clever things which were actually put into theory much later by the Greeks and beyond. I like the philosophical element of maths which can fit comfortably with the practical; making two pieces of a whole. I like how the 'Story of Maths' demonstrated all these things with enthusiasm, encompassing the history and progression of civilisation as it is linked with maths.

Thanks to some of the things I've been reading and learning I found myself thirsty for more on the practical application and uses in Egypt. They mentioned taxation of land being calculated through measuring the area of a farmer's land. I wanted to see what mathematics and its uses gave to the formation of what we see as civilised society. I didn't really get to see that relationship, though that bit about land was an interesting point.

It concentrated (naturally) much more on the development of mathematical formulae, patterns and uses of patterns. The Egyptians discovered binary through their multiplication system. The mesopotamians figured out a way to establish the area of a circle; figured out pi. The use of Pythagoras' theory 1,000 years before it was written down in both camps and the teaching and fondness for a playful use of maths, tactical maths in old board games like Backgammon.

I might sound ridiculous for getting so excited, but maths really was one of those oddly enjoyable subjects. It was horrific when you couldn't figure it out, but once you had it, that was it, it was a rule, you could stick to it and work through the problems. The fact that maths was always about one answer and finding a method in order to achieve that answer is so appealing when so many other things are chaotic and inconclusive. The axioms that help to build up those rules are fascinating in the way they can be hidden and forgotten purely because they are axiomatic, unless you're clever and good at figuring things out.

The show has a lovely charm to it because it explains things and informs the completely useless and unknowing like me, whilst probably make actual mathematicians smile at the very idea that someone is willing to contextualise something a lot of ordinary people find terribly frightening.

It's just a shame that perhaps, because it was on BBC4 ordinary people might not have watched it. Thankfully, I'm very ordinary so I learnt a little bit at least.

See the second in the series (there are four) next Monday, 9pm, BBC4.

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