Math Goes Pop!

In 1998, Darren Aronofsky shot to success with his independent film, Pi. The film was widely heralded as an excellent film, and earned Mr. Aronofsky the 1998 Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival. He then went on to direct the similarly successful Requiem for a Dream, followed by the less well-received 2006 film The Fountain. . . . → Read More: Math in the Movies: Pi

There is a joke in mathematics circles that has become well-known enough to merit its own entry on Wikipedia. This joke is referred to as the Teakettle Principle. Here’s how it goes:

A mathematician and an engineer go into the kitchen one day to make a pot of tea. Finding an empty kettle on . . . → Read More: Math in the Movies: Superman II

Ah, 1993. Andrew Wiles was on the verge of proving Fermat’s Last Theorem. Late night talk show hosts poked fun at our President’s love of McDonald’s. And on June 11th, a little film known as Jurassic Park released to audiences throughout the country.

As it held the top spot for most successful movie of . . . → Read More: Math in the Movies: Jurassic Park

Winning them the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1998, Good Will Hunting propelled Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to the Hollywood A-list (no doubt Phantoms would have done this for Ben Affleck, had it not been for the success of Good Will Hunting only months earlier). I will not summarize the plot, except to . . . → Read More: Math in the Movies: Good Will Hunting