3.145...........

[robinturner]

Finally got round to seeing Pi, a film my friends had been urging me to see since it came out. I'm still not sure what to make of it. I like the fact that someone had the courage to make a film about mathematics, with very little action and no love interest. I liked the references to Go and the Qabalah, though it didn't really go deep enough into either of them. I could handle the black-and-white photography, though a lot of it was too obviously imitating Eraserhead.

But for a film supposedly about mathematics, there wasn't actually all that much math in it. It had a lot of numbers, but there was probably more mathematical theory in Jurassic Park. I'm no mathematician myself, but I do find mathematical ideas interesting: recursion, chaos theory, etc.. What I was hoping for was something about the relation between these ideas and the world, but after a very promising beginning, Pi turned into another of those "crazy mathematician" stories. I expect I will find A Beautiful Mind similarly dissappointing.

Maybe the film is meant to be like the number.

Comments

[bram.livejournal.com]

I demand that you change your subject! You are mis-representing the value of pi! Back when I was a young geek and not an old one, I memorized the first couple of hundred digits of pi, and if I recall correctly they go something like

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494459230781640628620899

Dang, it's been too long! My memory's gone! But I assure you that it's 3.1415 and not 3.145

[ex-fauxpas266.livejournal.com]

Not that I really know how to operate a calculator, but according to my TI-35, pi is 3.141592654 ...

Damn, you're good. I originally mistyped that as "god."

Oh my Godness

[bram.livejournal.com]

Your calculator may be smarter than it lets on.

It may store more digits than it shows. If you subtract 3 from pi and multiply by 10, that 4 at the end may be replaced with 36. And then if you subtract 1 from 1.415926536 and multiply by 10 you may get 4.159265359. Does it work?

[solri.livejournal.com]

Sorry, my finger skipped the "1" before the "5".

[ex-fauxpas266.livejournal.com]

I thought Pi was fabulous, but I know nothing about mathemathics. But I don't know how deep into mathematics the director could have gotten without totally alienating 99.9999 percent of his audience.

I really liked A Beautiful Mind, though since I know nothing about Nash's work in math and economics I can't comment on the film's treatment of it. But the movie also totally bugged me for other reasons. It was supposed to be a true story, but it was completely Hollywoodized. Mixed feelings, but really engaging if you give yourself to it; also Jennifer Connolly is hot.

Eraserhead is a member of Anna's elite Top Five Most Overrated Films. Ugh. It's been ages since I've seen it, but the cinematography of Pi never reminded me of Eraserhead. Hrm.

[lolamontez.livejournal.com]

i tried pi, twice. i fell asleep, twice. 2x2=snore

[kristian.livejournal.com]

The thing that I am most unsure about the movie is when he finds that gooey stuff on his computer... and the ants. Does anyone have any idea what that is about?

[ex-fauxpas266.livejournal.com]

Augh, I had an idea of what that was when I was watching it, but have since forgotten. Like bugs infesting his hard drive, and leaving their bug-goo behind.

Yeah I really made it less vague.

[solri.livejournal.com]

I too thought there was a "bug" metaphor going on. OTOH, it could be just following the cinematic convention that showing yucky creatures makes a film more arty; c.f. Drowning By Numbers, which after the superb film score was also a great disappointment (Sebab will understand).

[wouldprefernot2.livejournal.com]

For the first thirty minutes, I thought I was watching the greatest film ever made. My sense of disbelief was entirely suspended, and I completely believed the guy was pursuing the number that controls everything. Then somehow the mojo disappeared and it became a merely good art flick.

[solri.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

[sebab.livejournal.com]

I disliked Pi (still not sure exactly why) but liked A Beautiful Mind.

and I spent some time as a mathematician.

I have no idea how you'll feel about the latter movie...