I'm pretty dysnumeric, but I enjoyed "The Story of Maths" on Netflix
It's an accessible history of mathematics, made in the UK, hence "maths" instead of "math," presented by a mathematician who looks astoundingly like Anderson Cooper, except for the Oxbridge accent.
He goes back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Babylon, India, and China to trace the development of mathematical knowledge and concepts from practical matters like the calculations needed by merchants and tax collectors to the most far-out theories of the twenty-first centuries. What makes the four episodes especially interesting is that he narrates each segment from the locations where they took place: how the Egyptians calculated the size and angles of the pyramids--from the pyaramids, the cave in India where the first known representation of zero is found, the Italian Renaissance painter who first codifed the rules of perspective, and so on.
As I said, I'm somewhat dysnumeric. When I was teaching, my students always recalculated the scores I put on returned tests, and I just recently ran into a mix-up because I reversed the numbers on a direct deposit bank account.
However, I have always enjoyed learning ABOUT math, and I learned a lot of new things in this short series.
valerief
(53,235 posts)NV Whino
(20,886 posts)Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)Last edited Sat Feb 13, 2016, 07:24 PM - Edit history (1)
I have always enjoyed programs about the history of science and math, so I thought I'd give it a try.
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)I love this group.
sarge43
(28,941 posts)Probably do me some good to watch it. Thanks for the heads up