A quick review of 'The Code'

Watched this last night. Overall, I thought that it was well-presented.  Marcus du Sautoy was a very good presenter (Although, I keep thinking that he looks a bit like the last incarnation of the Master from Dr Who...).

Within one hour we had covered prime numbers, Pi (and irrational numbers), exponential growth (e) and imaginary numbers ( i ).

The latter, in my opinion, was the weakest part as the importance of this concept was couched in the example that without imaginary numbers radar would be unusable and quickly moved on ( I guess it would have taken too long to show fourier analysis within the length of the programme).

I also got a bit annoyed at the slightly 'mystic' interludes that recapped concepts. They felt a bit like commercial breaks (Which the BBC do not have - maybe it's in preparation to sell to the US?).

I've seem some online criticism that says that the programme is too superficial. However, this series is about public understanding of mathematics not an OU lecture on Mathematics. These are two distinct goals.

I think that it will encourage people to see and appreciate the mathematics in the real world. Many people will have , for example, listened and enjoyed a piece of music without considering that an explanation of why it is pleasant to listen to is achievable by use of mathematics and understanding ratios.

So, I feel that the series is off to a good start and I am eagerly awaiting the next episode...

Link to programme web-site and to BBC Iplayer

I was reminded by this episode how much I am fascinated by Euler's identity and how it binds most of the above concepts into a deceptively simple equation:

BBC Programme on Maths in the Natural world

Looks to be a promising programme on real-life relevance of Mathematics.
The Code is a new BBC television series produced in conjunction with the Open University which starts on Wednesday 27th July, 9pm on BBC Two http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/features/code/.
The Code is a three-part TV series about maths in the natural world, presented by Marcus du Sautoy. Why do bees make hexagonal honeycomb? Where's the best place to stand to get on a train first? How can dozens of wrong answers make a correct one? Join Marcus on an exciting journey to discover how maths shapes the world around us.
Marcus du Sautoy OBE is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, who also worked on the TV programs associated with the OU's The story of maths module http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/tm190.htm.

Free School Science kits (Olympic themed) from Wellcome Trust

This may be of interest to UK Science teachers:-

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