Documentary to explain why people study math

The Education Broadcasting System (EBS) will broadcast "Math in Civilization", a five-episode documentary that follows the history of mathematics through six countries starting Dec. 19.

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Director Kim Hyun-jun said he wanted to show the essence of mathematics, which is logic, to tell the audience why we learn math, one of the most feared and disliked subjects, at a press conference at EBS Space Hall last week.

In this hybrid of history and travel documentary, the viewers will follow stage actor Nam Myeol-ryeol through the enchanting history of math.

The first episode will visit Ancient Egypt to show how the Pharaohs used math to rule their vast civilization. It will show how fractions were invented by the ancient Egyptian leaders to deal with situations where you have to allocate nine loaves of bread to 10 laborers. The second episode features the influence of "The Element", an ancient Greek doctrine by Euclid on modern mathematics, and will air Dec. 20.

In episode three on Dec. 21, the narrator will visit India to recount how the number zero came about. Then in the fourth part on Dec. 26, the narrator heads to 17th century Europe to track the origin of calculus.

The last episode on Dec. 27 will showcase remaining mysteries in mathematics like Fermat's Last Theorem and Poincare Conjecture. The series boasts detailed reenactments such as the construction of a pyramid shot at the Sakkara Pyramid in Cairo, Egypt and a debate featuring Greek philosophers at Plato's Academy in Athens, Greece.

By Noh Hyun-gi