Marcus du Sautoy - The Code

philip2009

philip2009

philip2009

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Three part "maths for the masses" series on BBC Two, 27th of July, 9PM -

Football-loving, trumpet-toting numbers whizz Marcus du Sautoy continues his crusade to bring maths to the masses. As this new three-part series opens, his mission seems to have taken a mysterious turn. Shrouded in the shadows of Chartres Cathedral, his collar pulled high around his neck, du Sautoy tells of a powerful code able to “unlock the laws of the universe”. It all seems a bit Dan Brown-ish, but du Sautoy eventually moves on to a more practical exploration.

His trip to Alabama is a particular highpoint. Here he uses prime numbers to explain the bizarre lifecycle of the periodical cicada. These diaphanous insects survive hidden underground for most of their lives before bursting forth in their millions once every 13 years. Du Sautoy’s investigation into pi is equally lively, taking in Cumbrian stone circles and Brighton’s Dover sole population. He ends the episode high in the Swiss Alps looking at how maths can explain the movement and eventual disappearance of stars. Much of the programme is sensible and intriguing, even if his conclusion that “the code is the truth of the universe” sounds like a tagline for a Hollywood blockbuster.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8653003/The-Code-BBC-Two-preview.html
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:)
 
Yeah his series on the Story of Maths was pretty simple - surprising enjoyable presenter considering the subject matter...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
taz488 said:
"The Code" what a load of tosh
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I have to agree: a terrible script ruined an otherwise good idea. It's interesting to compare this series with the "History of Maths" series by the same presenter, and almost the same time, which was vastly better. The Code took ages to tell you little, and was full of the portentious nonsense made de rigeur by the Discovery Channel. The style was so similar to them that I was surprised it had nothing to do with them. I fell asleep during the second episode, and didn't even bother wit the third.


M
 
I was looking forward to watching this but had to turn off after struggling to watch for 10 minutes.

In those 10 minutes there was spooky music, stock footage and about twenty lead-ins where it seemed he was about to make a point but then left it hanging.

ie "..and then they learned something that would change things FOREVER...." ->spooky music ->start talking about something else.

I found it extremely annoying to watch, he just didn't seem to be talking about anything.
 
Typical modern BBC science documentary. Surround everything with an air of mystery, stupid music, out of focus shots of nature and never actually explain anything. The latest one had Du Sautoy running alongside two sticks floating down a river making inane comments on how he couldn't predict which one was going to win.

And the part where he was predicting where the ball was going to land off that launch ramp was just laughable. It was a great opportunity to show people how simple maths can be applied in everyday life, but instead they had him measuring angles to a tenth of a degree (!) scribbling in a tiny notebook that you could hardly read and generally played the whole scene in fast forward with shaky cameras as if the viewer was supposed to think "OMG COMPLICATED MATHS". Why couldn't he just take 30 seconds to explain the various components of the equation to the viewer?

I'm all for popular science shows that teach the layman about maths and science in an accessible way. Du Sautoy's books are excellent in this regard. But The Code is just patronising.
 
dmpoole said:
But for somebody who knows bugger all I couldn't get my head around the fact that the weight of the ball wasn't taken into account.
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I agree, that's a fascinating aspect of the problem. But my issue with the show is that it shrouds it in mystery or completely ignores it instead of trying to explain it. It's as if they think viewers are scared of actually learning something.
 
p4radox said:
Typical modern BBC science documentary.
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As I've already pointed out, the blame lies at the door of The Discovery Channel, and it's in-house style, and not the BBC. Many of the BBC's docs are DC co-productions (noticeably Horizon) but even where they aren't, the makers want to sell to that channel. So they make their documentary in the same awful style. Docs made for BBC4 are generally fine (but not always), but those for BBC1, and especially BBC2, follow this horrible faux-portentous way of presentation. The rise of the Discovery Channel has all but destroyed science documentaries in this country.



M
 
Watched the first episode an hour ago, it was alright but as said there was a lot of times where it seemed the bloke was going to say something but then went on about something totally different. Not sure I'll watch the rest.
 
p4radox said:
I agree, that's a fascinating aspect of the problem. But my issue with the show is that it shrouds it in mystery or completely ignores it instead of trying to explain it. It's as if they think viewers are scared of actually learning something.
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You have a point because I really wanted to know why the weight of the ball wasn't important.
 
p4radox said:
Typical modern BBC science documentary. ...
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True but that's the way they do things nowadays. I felt similarly about the recent Brian Cox series but other posters made clear to me they believed that if you can maximise the audience with pretty pictures and dumbing down then so be it.
 
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