Transcript Mathematics in cinema

MATHEMATICS IN
CINEMA
Part 2
THE DAM BUSTERS (1955)
 On the use of Congruent triangles to measure
distances. Also some applied math problems on
bouncing balls on water and detonations in water.
 The British are desperate to shorten the length of
WW2 and propose a daring raid to smash Germany's
industrial heart. At first the objective looks impossible
until a British scientist invents an ingenious weapon
capable of destroying the planned target.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
(2001)
About the fabric of space time and how
humans have tried to find the meaning of life
in art, poetry or mathematical formulas.
THE HANGOVER (2009)
 Mathematical thoughts of Allen, when winning
at Vegas: from simple arithmetics to Fourier
theory. How many formulas can you identify?
 The plot follows four friends who travel to Las
Vegas for a bachelor party, only to wake up the
next morning not remembering a thing and
missing the groom, whose wedding is scheduled to
occur the next day. The film was inspired by the
filmmakers' real-life misadventures
STAR TREK (2009)
 Young Spock learns Math. He memorizes the
formula (4pi/3) r3 for the volume of the sphere,
the square root of 2396324 and the definition of
dimensionality log(n)/log(d).
OLD SCHOOL(2003)
 This comedy not only shows shots of
Harvard college but also some rather tough
math test problems: like Harriet's method of
solving cubics, Diophantine equations or
integration problems.
THE CODE
CONSPIRACY(2002)
 The ulam prime spiral appears. One could overlook
that almost nothing connected with codes, physics or
math does make sense in this movie, but that the blue
picture of the Ulam spiral is fake is slightly annoying.
 What if a computer disc held a code so powerful that
it could change the world forever? While translating the
Dead Sea Scrolls, a professor discovers a hidden formula
that not only unlocks all known computer encryption, but
also scientifically proves the existence of God!
IT’S MY TURN
 A lecture on the Snake lemma in homological
algebra in which a student pretends to know things
better.
 A successful but stressed mathematics professor
(Clayburgh) goes to her father's wedding and falls in
love with her father's bride's son (Douglas), a
prematurely retired pro baseball player. She must
choose between him and her current boyfriend
(Grodin), between Chicago and New York, and
between research and administration.
SNEAKERS (1992)
 A lecture on computational number theory. A method superior
to the number field sieve is announced. The mathematician Len
Adleman advised on the making of this move.
 Freelance spies track down an all powerful code breaking chip
developed by a mysteriously funded mathematician named Gunter
Janek. In a brief scene, the long-haired, white-suited Janek lectures
on the possibility of finding a faster way to factor numbers,
shouting lots of big math words, but not really explaining
anything. Still, the film correctly points out that a breakthrough in
factoring could happen and would be worth a lot to criminals and
people who break codes.
STRAW DOGS (1971)
 A blackboard with mathematical
astrophysical formulas.
 Upon moving to Britain to get away from
American violence, astrophysicist David Sumner
and his wife Amy are bullied and taken
advantage of by the locals hired to do
construction. When David finally takes a stand it
escalates quickly into a bloody battle as the
locals assault his house.
DONALD IN MATHEMAGIC
LAND (1959)
 Disney used animation here to explain
through this wonderful adventure of Donald
how math3matics can be useful in our real life.
Through this journey Donald shows us how
mathematics are not just numbers and charts,
but magical living things