Math and the Rise of Civilization

Aired 2011-12-19

The narrator takes the spectator on a journey from the pyramids to the bed of the Nile, demonstrating the need to maintain social and geographical stability after the Nile's annual floods. The Inundation is a driving force for the development of numbers and early geometry.

Aired 2011-12-20

In this episode we move to the Greek civilization, where meticulous thinkers used logic and reason to build the foundations of mathematics laid down by the Egyptians. Along with Pythagoras, to whom we owe the famous theorem, these philosophers have shown, through mathematics, the principles of geometry we know today.

Aired 2011-12-21

Our journey takes us to the east, the Indian subcontinent, where we find the zero. Representing both 'nothing' and the infinite possibility, this unique digit, when used as a marker, it is a cornerstone of modern mathematics. Along with negative numbers, this innovation has opened, both east and west, never imagined numbers.

Aired 2011-12-26

This episode moves to the Renaissance period when European scientists were eager to use the formulas and philosophies learned from the Greeks to discover the mathematical secrets of the world and the universe. We witness the emergence of differential and integral calculus in a competitive environment so strong that competing theories divided the Western world.

Aired 2011-12-27

In this last episode, we are transported to the modern era, where we can witness that the spirit of mathematics innovation is alive and kicking. We focus us on the great current minds, who have sought to resolve some of the great mathematical issues still unresolved in the past, including Fermat's last theorem and the Poincaré conjecture. It serves to remind us that mathematics is still with territories left to unravel.