"Dangerous Knowledge" - BBC documentary on mathematicians gone insane
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Re: "Dangerous Knowledge" - BBC documentary on mathematicians gone insane
#2Re: "Dangerous Knowledge" - BBC documentary on mathematicians gone insane
#3I was deeply disappointed by this program. The title and the content clearly imply that thinking about infinity drives people insane. It's more accurate to say that the people who went insane were pretty clearly unbalanced to start with, and when they were ostracised and ridiculed for their work (which turned out to be correct!) they went off the deep end.
It's not the thinking about infinity that did it. It's getting it right, and then being rejected and bullied by your peers that's likely to have an extremely adverse effect.
The program, however, does everything it can to imply that infinity shouldn't be considered lest it drive you over the edge.
Tabloid journalism from the BBC - most disappointing.
(edited for typos)
Re: "Dangerous Knowledge" - BBC documentary on mathematicians gone insane
#4I was deeply disappointed by this program. The title and the content clearly imply that thinking about infinity drives people insane. It's more accurate to say that the people who went insane were pretty clearly unbalanced to start with, and when they were ostracised and ridiculed for their work (which turned out to be correct!) they went off the deep end. It's not the thinking about infinity that did it. It's gettin…
Watching it right now. Completely agree. I hate seeing BBC do these documentaries. Sensationalist.
Re: "Dangerous Knowledge" - BBC documentary on mathematicians gone insane
#5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbes_Nash,_Jr .
The link doesn't work because HN excludes the trailing period, which, as it happens, is actually part of the link.
Try this instead ...
Re: "Dangerous Knowledge" - BBC documentary on mathematicians gone insane
#6I was deeply disappointed by this program. The title and the content clearly imply that thinking about infinity drives people insane. It's more accurate to say that the people who went insane were pretty clearly unbalanced to start with, and when they were ostracised and ridiculed for their work (which turned out to be correct!) they went off the deep end. It's not the thinking about infinity that did it. It's gettin…
Agree 100%. If you haven't already seen it don't bother. Not worth watching.
Re: "Dangerous Knowledge" - BBC documentary on mathematicians gone insane
#7I was deeply disappointed by this program. The title and the content clearly imply that thinking about infinity drives people insane. It's more accurate to say that the people who went insane were pretty clearly unbalanced to start with, and when they were ostracised and ridiculed for their work (which turned out to be correct!) they went off the deep end. It's not the thinking about infinity that did it. It's gettin…
Watching it right now. Completely agree. I hate seeing BBC do these documentaries. Sensationalist.
I totally agree, just quit watching it mid way.
Re: "Dangerous Knowledge" - BBC documentary on mathematicians gone insane
#8I think that if you try and hold infinity in your mind as a real thing it could break you. Same thing if you think really hard about the concept of time... you start thinking in circles and yet with each lap you feel like you've made progress and so you press on until you stop out of exhaustion or finally snap. I won't say don't think hard about time and infinity but if you do, be careful because that way lies madness (and a Fields Medal and a Nobel Prize!)