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NOVA: The Great Math Mystery
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NOVA: The Great Math Mystery

2015-04-15 · 54 min · ★ 7.8

Documentary · History · Mystery

NOVA leads viewers on a mathematical mystery tour -- a provocative exploration of math's astonishing power across the centuries. We discover math's signature in the swirl of a nautilus shell, the whirlpool of a galaxy and the spiral in the center of a sunflower. Math was essential to everything from the first wireless radio transmissions to the prediction and discovery of the Higgs boson and the successful landing of rovers on Mars. But where does math get its power? Astrophysicist and writer Mario Livio, along with a colorful cast of mathematicians, physicists and engineers, follows math from Pythagoras to Einstein and beyond, all leading to the ultimate riddle: Is math an invention or a discovery? Humankind's clever trick or the language of the universe?

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Production details

Directors
Richard Reisz, Dan McCabe
Production companies
GBH
Countries
United States of America
Status
Released

Top Cast

Jay O. SandersJay O. SandersNarrator (voice)
Glenn KalisonGlenn KalisonActor
Max TegmarkSelf
Esperanza SpaldingEsperanza SpaldingSelf
Sylvester James GatesSylvester James GatesSelf
Adam SteltznerSelf
Janna LevinJanna LevinSelf
Simon SchafferSelf
Savas DimopoulosSelf
Roger PenroseRoger PenroseSelf
Stephen WolframSelf

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