Numb3rs Question
May 6th, 2006 by SplineGuy
A question was posted in a comment to an earlier post:
I do not know anything about math. Maybe you could answer my question????One of my favorite television shows is: NUMBERS on friday nights on either ABC, NBC, or Cbs. Comes on about 8 or 9 p m central time. Question——Are the different math formulas they use, and or applications that they use—–math for solving various problems—-how much truth is there on their applications???????
I’ve heard criticisms of several crime drama shows such as CSI for their unrealistic portrayal of the profession. (In fact, I am not even sure if there is such a job as what most of the people in that show do. It appears to be a combination of several professions.) Although I can’t speak to those cases, I can speak to the mathematics behind the hit drama Numb3rs. It is fairly common for mathematicians to be sought out with specific applications in mind ranging from crop science to forensics, so it is not so unusual to expect the kind of scenario set up in the show Numb3rs, where mathematicians are routinely utilized to help develop math models for solving crimes. Of course, it is a prime time drama so you can expect the story line to be much more glamourized than in real life. It might surprise many of you to know that the producers, directors and/or writers go out of their way to make sure that the mathematics used in the show is accurately represented and appropriately applied in each situation.
From Wikipedia:
Several mathematicians work as consultants for each episode (see Hollywood Math and Science Film Consulting). Actual mathematics is presented in the show; the equations on the chalkboards are real, and they are indeed applicable to the respective situations in each show. This phenomenon has been recognized by working mathematicians; see, for example, NUMB3RS gets the math right, published by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the January 21 issue of Math Games in which Ed Pegg Jr. discusses related issues. e.g. Bayesian search theory, graph theory, combinatorics.
I even recently learned of a project put together by Texas Instruments that develops curriculum for math classes that incorporate the use of the show Numb3rs to motivate the study of mathematics. It is called “We all use math every day“. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is also involved in its development.
