The Story of Math: The Music of the Primes

MATHEMATICS FORMS the foundation for nearly everything we do--from finance to physics, and architecture to astronomy. Math not only describes our world, but also reveals its beauty and mystery. Join Marcus du Sautoy and a host of distinguished experts as they crisscross the globe, bringing the colorful history of numbers to life.Meet the men and women who conceived major mathematical breakthroughs and explored the farthest frontiers of abstract thought, often with tragic results. Learn how their discoveries still drive technology, science, and even philosophy. Using computerized visuals and healthy doses of humor, Du Sautoy makes the most complex concepts accessible and engaging. With contagious enthusiasm and boundless energy, he shows that math isn't merely about making calculations, but also about finding patterns that expose the hidden relationships in our universe.THE MUSIC OF THE PRIMES
Prime numbers inspired the creation of the computer, mirror the behavior of atoms, and drive every online financial transaction today. But their pattern remains a mystery. A renowned institute still offers a $1 million prize to whoever can definitively crack their code. Here, Marcus du Sautoy and his guests explain the search for harmony in these mysterious numbers.EPISODE 1: Building on a 2,000-year tradition, the 19th-century German mathematician Bernhard Riemann proposed a hypothesis that has since stumped the world.EPISODE 2: In the 20th century, the attempt to prove the Riemann hypothesis tragically claimed two great minds: G.H. Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan.EPISODE 3: Advances in computer technology and insights into how atoms behave make proving Riemann's hypothesis seem tantalizingly close, but still elusive.