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A Brief History of Mathematics

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Henri Poincare

Episode 8 of 10

Duration:
15 minutes
First broadcast:
Wednesday 23 June 2010

This ten part history of mathematics from Newton to the present day, reveals the personalities behind the calculations: the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science.

Today Henri Poincare, the man who proved there are certain problems that mathematics will never be able to answer: a mathematical insight that gave rise to chaos theory.

Producer: Anna Buckley.

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  1. Image for A Brief History of Mathematics

    A Brief History of Mathematics

    Professor Marcus du Sautoy argues that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science. Ten...

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