A documentary and a Bollywood film highlight two disparate paths in mathematics | Math - Science News

The movies recount tales of two mathematical women, Maryam Mirzakhani and Shakuntala Devi by Emily Conover, Physics Writer at Science News.

Photo: JAN VONDRAK; SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST/GETTY IMAGES

There’s no one way to be a mathematical genius.

Shakuntala Devi had little formal education. Maryam Mirzakhani attended graduate school at Harvard University. Two films chronicle how each woman became famous for her own variety of mathematical prowess.

The two women’s skills took vastly different forms: Devi was known for her blazingly fast mental arithmetic, while Mirzakhani made strides in the mathematics of surfaces, becoming the first woman to win one of the highest honors bestowed on mathematicians, the Fields Medal.The contrast between the two women is echoed in the divergent styles of the two films: 

One is a Bollywood biopic heavy on emotional drama, and the other is a documentary replete with mathematical lingo.

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Source: Science News