The Mathematician as Hero in Audio-Visual Media

Abstract

Compared with fiction, audio-visual media both enhance opportunities and impose constraints on the representation of scientist characters. This is true both in depicting the inner life of scientists and in presenting credibly what they actually do when ‘doing science’. Mathematics is arguably the most non-visual and non-verbal of sciences, as the science lacks even the visual apparatus of chemistry. In addition, mathematical symbols and formulae are the most arcane to non-scientists. Thus, the problem for film-makers is the question of how to engage and maintain audience interest while presenting the mathematicians’ experience faithfully and avoiding ‘information dump’. In this article, we focus on the depiction of mathematicians in film, television, and recorded TED talks and the success (or otherwise) of their representation.