a concept in measurement—the foot—and why it’s necessary to have measurement
standards.
What movieshad mathematics as their primary focus?
The following three movies were either about mathematicians or had a dominant
mathematical theme:
A Beautiful Mind(2001)—Based on the book by Sylvia Nasar (also see above), this
is Hollywood’s version of John Nash’s rise, descent into mental illness, and eventual
redemption. Directed by Ron Howard, it stars Russell Crowe and Ed Harris.
Pi(1998)—This dark, low-budget, black-and-white film is about a mathemati-
cian’s obsessive search for patterns in everything, while everyone from Wall Street
investors to religious fundamentalists want to find and exploit him. Directed by Dar-
ren Aronofsky, it stars Sean Gullette and Mark Margolis.
Infinity(1996)—This movie about the early life of brilliant and eccentric Nobel
Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman (1918–1988), is both a tribute to the scien-
tist and a whimsical romance. Directed by Matthew Broderick, it stars Matthew Brod-
erick and Patricia Arquette.
What mathematical conceptwas featured in the movie The
Andromeda Strain?
The concept of exponential growth, also known as geometric growth, provided the
tension in this movie and the book on which it was based. The basic premise was that
microscopic organisms had been inadvertently brought to Earth from outer space by a
returning satellite. Once on Earth, they reproduced exponentially, doubling in num-
ber every 20 minutes. Very quickly, they spread over the entire planet, killing nearly
everyone. (And no, we won’t give away the ending!)
457MATHEMATICAL RESOURCES
What popular movies pitted dinosaurs versus a mathematician?
B
oth Jurassic Park(1993) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park(1997) had a
mathematician as one of the main (human) protagonists. Jeff Goldblum
played chaos theory mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm, who tried to sound a warn-
ing about the inherent instability of the park’s experiment with dinosaurs.
Unfortunately, no one listened to him, and the dinosaurs soon escaped the con-
trol of their human caretakers. In the second movie, Dr. Malcolm had to rescue a
colleague/love interest (and his daughter) on a second island.