MATHEMATICS, AN IMMORTAL MASTERPIECE

“Mathematics, as much as music or any other art, is one of the means by which we rise to a complete self-consciousness.” – John William Navin Sullivan

            In the third episode entitled “The Frontiers of Space” of the BBC series, The Story of Maths, we journey to Europe or the next powerhouse of mathematical ideas in the world. We travel from the East to the West and are then introduced to the beauty and brains of Europe in all its splendor. When the revolution of mathematics reached different places in Europe, we met many of the mathematical giants whose contributions to the field have immortalized them for centuries and for the rest of the years to come. During the late Renaissance period, the people who were once known as only artists earned their right to be called mathematicians. They used their mathematical prowess to further improve and perfect their masterpieces both in art and mathematics. And during this journey to Europe, we see how its mathematicians understand the geometry of objects fixed in time and space and the mathematics behind objects in motion. 

            Marcus du Sautoy’s first stop in his European tour was at Northern Italy, in the town of Albino. He talked about how artists and architects use the idea of perspective to aid them in their work. One of them was Pierro della Francesca who understood perspective because of his mathematical prowess. The illusion of perspective was to present the 3D world on a 2D canvas and he perfects this illusion through mathematics. In a way, this mathematical revolution gave us a new way to see the world.

            The presenter then travelled to Descartes, France, the city that shows its value for its mathematicians and one of which is Rene Descartes. Rene Descartes believed that to understand something, one must remove all distractions and so he thought of his bed as a great place to achieve this meditative state. I’m sure all would agree that this would make a great excuse to our parents for us to stay in bed. Then du Sautoy went to Holland, the new home of Rene Descartes where he would be safe to make his endeavors in the field of mathematics. And in the town of Leiden, du Sautoy met with Prof. Henk Bos who believed that Descartes merged algebra and geometry and created a dictionary to understand one from the other and vice versa. Descartes also navigated geometries of higher dimensions and understood the connection between algebra and geometry which transformed mathematics as a whole. Another mathematician named Marin Mersenne, a Parisian monk who went to school with Descartes, is famous for his work in prime numbers and his correspondence. It was during this time where the importance of mathematical communication was shown.

            Du Sautoy’s next stop was at Bordeaux de la man near Toulouse, France where the works of Pierre de Fermat like the modern number theorem, the Last Theorem, theorem on prime numbers and the Little Theorem were celebrated through fun and games.

            The presenter then travelled to Britain particularly to Oxford and Cambridge, the places that gave birth to great mathematicians; the place where Sir Isaac Newton came from. He was known for his work in the exact speed and distance travelled in time, which lead to the discovery or invention of calculus. However, another mathematician named Gottfried Leibniz also discovered calculus at the same time Newton did and published his findings first. There was rivalry between the two over calculus then it was decided that Newton was the first to discover calculus while Leibniz was the first to publish calculus. This rivalry made people realize that once a mathematician makes a mathematical breakthrough, he gets a little bit of immortality and that is why they want to get all of the credit for its discovery.

            Du Sautoy’s next stop was at Basel, Switzerland, the heart of Europe and where the dynasty of the Bernoullis mathematicians took place. Several generations of the Bernoullis family were known for their contributions to mathematics. They developed calculus to solve modern problems and discovered the calculus of variation. Then another mathematician named Leonard Euler, the prodigy of one of the Bernoullis, discovered the use of the symbol of pi, e and i. He also discovered a new system of weights and measures, new theory of music, calculated infinite sums and he was also the “Mozart of Maths” according to du Sautoy.

            As France and Germany joined this mathematical revolution, the French particularly Napoleon Bonaparte realized the usefulness in mathematics to serve society in aspects like weaponry and military machines. In France, a mathematician named Joseph Fourier was famous for his work on sound waves which is the basis of MP3 technology. While Germans studied mathematics detached from the state or military. In Gottingen, Germany, the home of the giants in mathematics like Carl Friedrich Gauss who was famous for his works on the patterns of numbers, construction of figures with 17 sides, theory of elliptic forces and imaginary numbers. In Transylvania, János Bolyai explored imaginary geometries or hyperbolic geometry. Du Sautoy then went to Lautenberg, Germany, the home of another mathematician named Bernhard Riemann who understood the foundations of geometry and what it could be. 

          

                  This episode enlightened me the most because of the place in question, Europe. The place of my dreams; I dream of going to Europe someday not only because of the culture but also because of the famous artists that it bred. This episode showed how mathematics isn’t a task but a way of life. Some grew up into it and some find themselves attracted to it. It is contagious and some people just get hooked on it as the mathematical revolution spread from one town to the next. And this episode made me realize the importance of mathematics in the field of art and architecture. It plays an essential role in the proper and realistic portrayal of artwork and masterpieces. It helps artists further develop their craft and eventually reach their goal: perfection. Whenever an artist draws or paints, they strive for accuracy. And what better way to achieve that than through mathematics? I also saw how artists and mathematicians have the same goal in the end and that is to have even the slightest bit of immortality. They both also want to be recognized and given credit for their work just like everyone else and just like everyone else, they want to be remembered. Through their incredible contributions to the field, their names are now famous and widely known throughout the globe centuries after their deaths. In this episode, I felt like it was made for the people behind mathematics, the mathematicians rather than mathematics alone. I saw how mathematicians became who they are; I saw how they think, how they get inspiration and how they live. It showed the viewers the lives of the people behind the great achievement of mankind and how even though they’re the one of the greatest intellectual minds who has ever lived, they’re still human, they still need recognition, admiration and even the acceptance of their peers. And in the same way an artist works hard to present its masterpiece to the world, the mathematician goes through thick and thin to present his or her theories, equations and other discoveries.