Life Of Pi Dialectical Journal

Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson in *Subconscious Figures*. Photograph Courtesy: 20th Century Play a trick on/IMDb

Happy Pi Day! Accept we lost you already? Don't worry — nosotros'll explain. In mathematics, the Greek letter Pi, or π, is used to correspond a mathematical abiding. Used in mathematics and physics, Pi is defined in Euclidean geometry as the ratio of a circle'due south circumference to its diameter. And, approximately, π is equal to 3.14159 — which brings u.s.a. to Pi Mean solar day.

Celebrated on March 14 (a.1000.a. 3/14, because 3.xiv are the first three digits of the abiding π), Pi Day was founded in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw. Now, mathematicians, scientists and nerds akin celebrate this pseudo-holiday — sometimes with Pi Pie.

According to mathematics professor William Fifty. Schaaf, who wrote about the constant in his piece of work Nature and History of Pi, "Probably no symbol in mathematics has evoked every bit much mystery, romanticism, misconception and human involvement as the number Pi." So, if yous're feeling a piffling more excited about math than usual thanks to Pi Day, these films can help you mark the occasion.

A Brilliant Young Mind (2014)

A Brilliant Immature Mind (released under the title X+Y outside of the U.South.), stars Sex Instruction's Asa Butterfield equally Nathan, a teenage mathematics prodigy who has trouble connecting with others. Instead, Nathan finds comfort in numbers. But that comfort grows into a new life path entirely when he's chosen to represent the U.K. in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

Taking inspiration from the documentary Cute Immature Minds (2007), Butterfield's character is based on Daniel Lightwing, an IMO silver medalist who is also on the autism spectrum disorder. Although this might sound like well-trodden (and often poorly executed) Hollywood fare, A Brilliant Immature Listen is perceptive, clever and full of heart. And, unlike other films (ahem, 2001'due south A Beautiful Mind…), this one doesn't veer into cringe-territory while centering folks with neurodevelopmental conditions or mental illnesses and disorders.

This Hindi-linguistic communication biographical drama centers on mathematician Shakuntala Devi, who is played brilliantly past Vidya Balan. Dubbed the "human calculator," Devi showed prodigy-level math skills from a immature historic period. During the 1930s, her family discovered that she could solve complex math problems — all in her head.

As one might wait, Devi becomes a globe-renowned mathematician. When she marries and has a daughter, Devi realizes that she misses doing "math shows". And while she has no problem balancing equations, balancing her professional and personal lives might be a tad more complicated.

Take yous ever watched a sports drama and felt the sudden urge to pick upward soccer, football, water ice skating or whatever it is y'all're watching? Well, Subconscious Figures might only give yous the urge to perform complex mathematical equations. Seriously, Taraji P. Henson, who plays existent-life NASA pioneer and icon Katherine Johnson, makes chalkboard math look thrilling.

Based on Margot Lee Shetterly'south 2016 book of the aforementioned name, Subconscious Figures traces how Johnson and her peers — played by Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe — not only helmed the U.Southward. efforts in the "Space Race", just blazed trails for Black women in a field that's dominated by white men. While the film isn't ever historically accurate, it does shine a light on unsung heroes similar Johnson, thus bringing more visibility to the history textbooks often fail to mention.

Stand and Deliver (1988)

Added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2011, Stand and Evangelize is i of those films that, upon release, feels like an instant classic. Maybe you saw information technology for the first fourth dimension in center or high school at the finish of the year, when yous were itching to leave the classroom for summer break. If that'southward the case, it's well worth a rewatch. And, if you've never seen Stand and Deliver, queue up your Criterion Aqueduct subscription now.

Based on the story of high school math teacher Jaime Escalante, the film is set in East Los Angeles, at a school with a mostly working-grade Latine student population. At get-go, Escalante (Edward James Olmos) tries to connect with his students through humor — simply some of the students, including Angel Guzman (Lou Diamond Phillips) continually question Escalante's authority.

To make matters worse, the school's accreditation is at risk due to low test scores. Eager to help his students attain their potential, Escalante attempts to connect with them on a personal level. Nosotros won't spoil the ending, but we will say that the existent-life Escalante said the movie was "90% truth, 10% drama" — the perfect recipe for success. Not to mention, Olmos received an Oscar nomination for his performance.

Miracle: Letters to the President (2021)

Based on the truthful story of a family that lived in a roadless, remote area in South Korea's Due north Gyeongsang Province, Miracle: Letters to the President is a compelling family drama. It centers on Tae-yoon (Lee Sung-min), an engineer who dreams of edifice a train station for the hamlet his family calls home.

Photo Courtesy: Blossom Pictures/Lotte Entertainment/IMDb

Tae-yoon'due south son, Joon-gyeong (Park Jeong-min), decides to take matters into his ain hands. The young math prodigy enlists the help of his girlfriend, Ra-hee (Im Yoon-ah); his sister, Bo-gyeong (Lee Soo-kyung); and other villagers to establish a privately owned and operated train station. Filled with a genuine warmth and humor, Miracle is bolstered by a strong ensemble cast, making it one of 2021's unsung cinematic delights.

A Brief History of Time (1991)

While you might have watched 2014'southward Theory of Everything during Oscar season a few years agone, we strongly recommend watching A Brief History of Time instead. Although it takes its title from Stephen Hawking's renowned book, this documentary doesn't purely delve into the nature of cosmology.

Instead, it offers a biography of the esteemed astrophysicist and cosmologist. Featuring intimate interviews with Hawking's family unit, former classmates and colleagues, the documentary feels balanced — role portrait, function scientific discipline lesson. And director Errol Morris makes swell use of visual furnishings to draw Hawking'southward complex theoretical physics and meditations on cosmology.

The Imitation Game (2014)

Nominated for several Oscars and BAFTAs back when it hit screens, The Fake Game is based on the 1983 biography Alan Turing: The Enigma, which was penned by Andrew Hodges. The film, however, takes its title from the name of the game the esteemed cryptanalyst suggested when it came to answering a rather loaded question: tin machines think?

Photograph Courtesy: Black Bear Pictures/IMDb

Not familiar with Turing's story? During World War 2, he decrypted High german intelligence for the British by designing a car that can decode words he already knows to be nowadays in certain messages. Despite laying the groundwork for the modern computer, Turing was subjected to immense cruelty when government officials learned he was gay. In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a Royal Pardon for his contributions — a newsworthy plough that, hopefully, brought more visibility to all facets of his story.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

In this Oscar-winning motion-picture show, Robin Williams plays a therapist who's assigned to work with an incredibly smart young man, Volition Hunting (Matt Damon). Volition works equally a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); ane 24-hour interval, he anonymously solves a challenge a math professor wrote out on their chalkboard.

The professor eventually catches Volition solving another math claiming. Merely before Will tin deed on reaching his full potential in mathematics, he assaults a cop, and, as part of his persecution agreement, sees a therapist (Williams).

The movie was actually a final assignment for a playwriting class Damon was taking at Harvard University. He was supposed to turn in a ane-act play, but ended up submitting a 40-page script instead. In the end, Williams earned an Oscar for All-time Supporting Actor — and Damon and his longtime buddy, Ben Affleck, nabbed an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Pi (1998)

Looking for a math-axial moving-picture show that's less biographical and/or uplifting and a bit more neo-noir psychological horror? Try Pi, Darren Aronofsky'south characteristic-length directorial debut. Before Requiem for a Dream (2000) or Black Swan (2010), Aronofsky wrote near a paranoid mathematician, Max Cohen (Sean Gullette).

Photo Courtesy: Artisan Entertainment/IMDb

The unemployed number theorist believes he can unlock the universal patterns we see in nature with a key number, so he builds an advanced estimator system — and falls into a rabbit hole of deep questions almost the universe, hallucinations, paranoid delusions and headaches that give the protagonist of Eraserhead (1977) a run for his money.

Pi has it all. At that place'southward mysticism, in that location'due south obsession — there'southward the fundamental clash of homo irrationality and the regularity of mathematics that compose our globe. If you want something a bit mind-bending or theory-inducing, Arronfsky's archetype is what The Number 23 (2007) dreamed of existence — merely with more black-and-white arthouse style.