Season 42: Episode 16

Season 42: Episode 18

Nova (1974)

Season 42: Episode 17

The Great Math Mystery

TMDb

Air Date:

2025-12-06

Genre

Documentary

Release Date

1974

End Date

2025

Episode Description

Join NOVA on a mathematical mystery tour—a provocative exploration of math's astonishing power across the centuries. We discover math's signature in the swirl of a nautilus shell, the whirlpool of a galaxy, and the spiral in the center of a sunflower. Math was essential to everything from the first wireless radio transmissions to the prediction and discovery of the Higgs boson and the successful landing of rovers on Mars. Astrophysicist and writer Mario Livio, along with a colorful cast of mathematicians, physicists, and engineers, follow math from Pythagoras to Einstein and beyond. It all leads to the ultimate riddle: Is math a human invention or the discovery of the language of the universe?

236Weekly views

236Monthly views

1Total views

0

0

Secrets Beneath the Ice

Making Stuff: Stronger

Making Stuff: Smaller

Making Stuff: Cleaner

Making Stuff: Smarter

Smartest Machine on Earth

Crash of Flight 447

Venom: Nature's Killer

Japan's Killer Quake

How Smart Are Animals?

Engineering Ground Zero

Surviving the Tsunami

Finding Life Beyond Earth: Are We Alone?

Iceman Murder Mystery

The Fabric of the Cosmos: What is Space?

The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Universe or Multiverse?

Deadliest Volcanoes

Bombing Hitler's Dams

3D Spies of WWII

Mystery of a Masterpiece

Ice Age Death Trap

Separating Twins

Cracking Your Genetic Code

Hunting the Elements

Deadliest Tornadoes

Secrets of the Sun

Secrets of the Viking Sword

Forensics on Trial

Mystery of Easter Island

Ultimate Mars Challenge

Doomsday Volcanoes

Decoding Neanderthals

Rise of the Drones

Who Killed Lindbergh's Baby?

Building Pharaoh's Chariot

Earth From Space

Mind of a Rampage Killer

Ancient Computer

Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Life Explodes

Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Monsters

Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Strange Creatures

Ground Zero Supertower

Megastorm Aftermath

Making Stuff Faster

Making Stuff Wilder

Making Stuff Colder

Making Stuff Safer

At the Edge of Space

Asteroid: Doomsday or Payday?

Alien Planets Revealed

Zeppelin Terror Attack

Ghosts of Murdered Kings

Roman Catacomb Mystery

Great Cathedral Mystery

Wild Predator Invasion

Inside Animal Minds: Bird Genius

Inside Animal Minds: Dogs & Super Senses

Inside Animal Minds: Who's the Smartest?

Why Sharks Attack

Escape From Nazi Alcatraz

D-Day's Sunken Secrets

Vaccines Calling the Shots

Rise of the Hackers

Why Planes Vanish

Surviving Ebola

Ben Franklin's Balloons

Bigger Than T. rex

Emperor’s Ghost Army

Killer Landslides

First Man on the Moon

Big Bang Machine

Sunken Ship Rescue

Sinkholes—Buried Alive

Colosseum: Roman Death Trap

Petra: Lost City of Stone

Hagia Sophia: Istanbul’s Ancient Mystery

The Great Math Mystery

Invisible Universe Revealed

Nazi Attack on America

Nuclear Meltdown Disaster

Dawn of Humanity

Arctic Ghost Ship

Secrets of Noah's Ark

Cyberwar Threat

Making North America: Origins

Making North America: Life

Making North America: Human

Inside Einstein's Mind

Secret Tunnel Warfare

Life's Rocky Start

Mystery Beneath the Ice

Himalayan Megaquake

Creatures of Light

Rise of the Robots

Vikings Unearthed

Can Alzheimer's Be Stopped?

Operation Lighthouse Rescue

Bombing Hitler's Supergun

15 Years of Terror

School of the Future

Great Human Odyssey

Treasures of the Earth: Gems

Treasures of the Earth: Metals

Treasures of the Earth: Power

Secrets of the Sky Tombs

The Nuclear Option

Search for the Super Battery

Ultimate Cruise Ship

The Origami Revolution

Why Trains Crash

Holocaust Escape Tunnel

Building Chernobyl's Megatomb

Chinese Chariot Revealed

Eclipse Over America

Ghosts of Stonehenge

Death Dive to Saturn

Secrets of the Shining Knight

Secrets of the Forbidden City

Killer Volcanoes

Killer Hurricanes

Extreme Animal Weapons

Day the Dinosaurs Died

Black Hole Apocalypse

The Impossible Flight

First Face of America

Great Escape at Dunkirk

Prediction by the Numbers

Decoding the Weather Machine

Rise of the Superstorms

Transplanting Hope

Operation Bridge Rescue

Volatile Earth: Volcano on Fire

Volatile Earth: Volcano on the Brink

Flying Supersonic

Thai Cave Rescue

World's Fastest Animal

Apollo's Daring Mission

Pluto and Beyond

Einstein's Quantum Riddle

Kïlauea: Hawai'i on Fire

Decoding the Great Pyramid

Rise of the Rockets

The Next Pompeii

Saving the Dead Sea

Inside the Megafire

First Horse Warriors

Lost Viking Army

Back to the Moon

The Planets: Inner Worlds

The Planets: Mars

The Planets: Jupiter

The Planets: Saturn

The Planets: Ice Worlds

Why Bridges Collapse

Look Who's Driving

Rise of the Mammals

Dead Sea Scroll Detectives

Decoding Da Vinci

The Violence Paradox

Animal Espionage

Mysteries of Sleep

Cuba's Cancer Hope

The Truth About Fat

Decoding COVID-19

Human Nature / Gene-Editing Reality Check

Secret Mind of Slime

A to Z: The First Alphabet

A to Z: How Writing Changed the World

Nature's Fear Factor

Touching the Asteroid

Can We Cool the Planet?

Saving Notre Dame

Secrets in Our DNA

Beyond the Elements: Reactions

Beyond the Elements: Indestructible

Beyond the Elements: Life

Looking for Life on Mars

Picture a Scientist/ Search Engine Breakdown

Fighting for Fertility

Hindenburg: The New Evidence

Great Electric Airplane Race

Ship That Changed the World

Bat Superpowers

The Cannabis Question

NOVA Universe Revealed: Age of Stars

NOVA Universe Revealed: Milky Way

NOVA Universe Revealed: Alien Worlds

NOVA Universe Revealed: Black Holes

NOVA Universe Revealed: Big Bang

High-Risk High-Rise

Butterfly Blueprints

Alaskan Dinosaurs

Ancient Maya Metropolis

Arctic Sinkholes

Secrets in the Scat

Great Mammoth Mystery

Determined: Fighting Alzheimer's

Dinosaur Apocalypse: The New Evidence

Dinosaur Apocalypse: The Last Day

Why Ships Crash

Ice Age Footprints

Ultimate Space Telescope

Ending HIV in America

Computers v. Crime

Can Psychedelics Cure?

Nazca Desert Mystery

Zero to Infinity

Rebuilding Notre Dame

London Super Tunnel

Star Chasers of Senegal

Ancient Builders of the Amazon

New Eye on the Universe

Weathering the Future

Chasing Carbon Zero

Saving the Right Whale

Hidden Volcano Abyss

Your Brain: Perception Deception (1)

Your Brain: Who's in Control? (2)

Ancient Earth: Birth of the Sky

Ancient Earth: Frozen

Ancient Earth: Life Rising

Ancient Earth: Inferno

Ancient Earth: Humans

Inside China's Tech Boom

The Battle to Beat Malaria

Lee and Liza's Family Tree

When Whales Could Walk

Easter Island Origins

Building the Eiffel Tower

Hunt for the Oldest DNA

A.I. Revolution

Great American Eclipse

Secrets in Your Data

Decoding the Universe: Cosmos

Solar System: Storm Worlds

Solar System: Strange Worlds

Solar System: Volcano Worlds

Solar System: Icy Worlds

Solar System: Wandering Worlds

Decoding the Universe: Quantum

Building Stuff: Boost It!

Building Stuff: Reach It!

Building Stuff: Change It!

Lost Tombs of Notre Dame

Extreme Airport Engineering

Egypt's Tombs of Amun

Pompeii's Secret Underworld

Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Revolutionary War Weapons

Secrets of the Forest

Critical Condition: Health In Black America

Ultimate Crash Test: Countdown

Ultimate Crash Test: Impact

Human: Journeys

Human: Neanderthal Encounters

Human: Into the Americas

Human: Building Empires

Ancient Desert Death Trap

Operation Space Station: High-Risk Build

Operation Space Station: Science and Survival

Asteroids: Spark of Life?

Angkor: Hidden Jungle Empire

Stone Age Temple Mystery

Return to the Moon

Athens: Birth of Democracy

Comments

The comment field is only for members. Login, Register