NOVA's The Great Math Mystery

Pictured: Astrophysicist and writer Mario Livio

Credit: Courtesy of NASA ESA J. Coyle Jr. for STScI

Underlying civilization’s stunning advancements and the technological wonders of the modern age is something deep and mysteriously powerful: mathematics. But where does math come from, and why does it work so well to explain our physical world? Is it humankind’s clever trick, or the deeply embedded language of the cosmos? In The Great Math Mystery, NOVA, and a colorful cast of the world’s top mathematicians, physicists, and engineers embark on a mathematical mystery tour—a provocative exploration of math’s astonishing power as it has evolved over the centuries—to ponder a profound question: is math an invention or a discovery? NOVA's The Great Math Mystery premieres on WXXI-TV on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 9 p.m.