Hacker Cinema
The Music of the Primes
2005 · TV series · documentary · 60 min episodes · 1 season
Created by Marcus du Sautoy
For more than 2,000 years, a mathematical riddle has baffled the world’s greatest minds. It’s a problem of such difficulty that it has tormented those brave enough to tackle it. Some have given up in despair. Others have been driven mad. Primes are fundamental to mathematics yet they seem to surface entirely randomly along the number line. But are the primes truly random or is there some hidden pattern? It’s the greatest unsolved problem of mathematics. In The Music of the Primes, Marcus du Sautoy investigates the fascinating story of great mathematicians who have all grappled with the problem of the primes
2 positivefrom 2 commenters
Where to watch
No streaming data for this title.
2 comments on Hacker News
I love The Ascent of Man. Bronowski's presentation style and the camera work (e.g. a wide shot of some landscape with Bronowski narrating then you notice actually he's a couple of hundred metres in the distance walking by) amuses me to no end, but it's a great watch. I haven't heard of the others you list, so I'll check them out, thanks.
Some of my favourites:
Microcoosmos
Anything by David Attenborough
Capturing The Friedmans
Anything by Louis Theoroux
The Music of the Primes (this was technically a 3 part series, but it's a great look at the mathematicians who have tried to find the secret to the prime numbers, most of whom drove themselves insane)
The (R)evolution of Immortal Technique - a documentary about political activist/musician, great watch
I'm one of those guys who didn't necessarily pay a lot of attention to maths in college - not that I don't see the value in it, but it is certainly not a core interest. However, I've been slowly getting more and more into maths and the science of primes. So this post (and the questions the Ulam spiral asks) strike me at the worst of times and the best of times.
If you're at least a bit like me (no deep knowledge of maths, but growing curiosity) I recommend checking out BBC's recent documentary on primes, called 'The Music of the Primes'. It'll spark your interest, and it'll make you want to dig a little deeper.