NOVA: The Great Math Mystery (2015)

Plot Summary

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?

Full Cast & Characters

Jay O. Sanders

Narrator (voice)

Glenn Kalison

Actor

Max Tegmark

Self

Esperanza Spalding

Self

Sylvester James Gates

Self

Adam Steltzner

Self

Janna Levin

Self

Simon Schaffer

Self

Savas Dimopoulos

Self

Roger Penrose

Self

Stephen Wolfram

Self

Director & Crew

Where to Watch NOVA: The Great Math Mystery Online

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