|
The Story of 1 | 
 enlarge | Director: Nick Murphy
Actors: Ahmed Boulane, Fred Challa, Marcus Du Sautoy, Terry Jones
Studio: PBS (Direct)
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $18.53
You Save: $11.45 (38%)
New (25) Used (7) from $15.23
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 17530
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 60
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 601
UPC: 841887007092
EAN: 0841887007092
ASIN: B000EOTENQ
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: May 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 The Story of 1 January 1, 2009
As a middle school teacher, I purchased this DVD with the intentions of showing it to supplement my lessons during what I call "Math Week".
Overall I believe that the film has merits in that it has comical overtones, is generally fast paced, and offers interesting math history. Educators should be forewarned that one early scene displays a topless Aborigine.
I did find it curious that the ancient Hebrew Civilization and their use of numbers is totally ignored. For example In Hebrew, there is a correlation between the symbols for numbers and the ones for letters. To begin with, the first letter, Aleph, has the value 1. The next letter, Bet, has the value 2, and so on up to Yud=10. After that, each letter is an increment of ten, so that Kaf=20 and so on, until Qof (usually pronounced like "cough")=100. The last three letters increase in value by 100, so Resh = 200, Shin = 300, and Tav = 400.
To ignore this important historical is in my opinion very bias. I recommend a thorough reading of Numbers; written by Moses nearly 3400 years ago.
I still am happy with my acquisition as it is difficult to find compelling math visuals. I also recommend some of the Charles and Ray Eames films.
 one star is 2 much December 7, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
i did not learn any thing of this cd, arabic numbers are called the arabic numbers because it is arabic numbers not indian numbers.
but any how the cd is boring and it is crab, doesn't worth one dollar,
nor it worth the time spent to watch it.
i have no idea who are these people reviewed this cd and rated it 5 stars!
 Terry Jones is a Genius June 25, 2008
The Story of 1 is an awesome video. I got it for my wife who is a math teacher to show in class. If you like Brittish humor and have any interest in history in math, you will love this video. The scene that takes place in a plant nursary is classic!
A Short but 1st Rate Film June 21, 2008
Besides The Film "Stand and Deliver" there are very few films that can be used in a Math Classroom with any chance of being useful. This however is a HUGE EXCEPTION to the rule. Mr. Jones is to be commended for taking a subject that could be seen as boring by most students and making it fun & interesting for the majority of my students. Thanks!!!!
 Very fun documentary, but a very brief overview June 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was a really fun documentary to watch, regardless of how elementary it was overall. However, the documentary is only about an hour long so you can't really recount the history of civilization (which goes with math) in that short period of time. This documentary does give the viewer a clearly defined impression that the number one is far more complex in history than most people might have thought. Granted there are assuredly more numbers than just one, the friends 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 do make a cameo appearance every now and again, but as the DVD points out... they're all made up of units of one when broken down! That is until the rise of zero comes into play.
Math and history are probably two of my most favored subjects and I've been getting into documentaries as of late, so to combine the two in one setting was a great find! All this and to top it off with having it narrated by Terry Jones from Monty Python fame. With that kind of a narrator I was expecting a fair degree of silliness throughout the documentary. Granted it's not nearly as off the wall as we get in Monty Python skits (unfortunately there are no silly walks), but it did have its humorous moments. I suppose the concept derived from the fact that most people find math boring or cumbersome so they wanted to lighten the mood. Most of this silliness is generated via computer graphics with representations of numbers getting into mischief and so forth. Terry Jones certainly has his witty quips thrown in to make it entertaining as well. I must reference what he said the Egyptians liked to do for those who have seen this already.
This documentary goes over how essential mathematics was for building civilization even in ancient times dating back to Sumer. It goes over some of the most major breakthroughs in mathematics in history and how those affected the world we know today. One part I found particularly fascinating was when they were going over the Roman system and how cumbersome it was to use to make even some of the most simplistic calculations, especially if you wanted to deal with large numbers! The effects would hamper the rise of Europe's civilization for generations until the numerals from India were eventually introduced via the Arab nations who refined them a little. Eventually the documentary brings us into the digital and goes over binary, don't worry you don't really have to know how to read the binary system to really get what's going on at the end.
If you did pick this up to show to a class then I'm sort of torn on this topic. Some of the information is probably too complex for younger students, but also might be too silly for those in high school. Lets admit it, not all high school students find mathematics all that riveting and to see dancing numbers on the screen just might not grab their interest. A junior high level class may be more acceptable, but still there might be some subjects touched upon that few will truly grasp and understand, depending on their schooling level at that age. Just some thoughts for teachers who may decide to purchase this.
Amidst all this it really is an excellent brief overview. So if you have a general interest in history and you want to see how math really made our civilization possible then this is definitely something worth watching. On the flip side if you're into math and you want to see how math influenced society and civilization in history then this is also a must see! If you already have a decent handle on both subjects don't plan on finding any new information here, because this really is a brief overview, kind of plants the seeds of curiosity for more in depth research, if you will. However brief this is, it is fun to watch and even if you know the history and have a decent math background like myself, then I have to say I spent an hour being entertained by subjects I already love with a very smart script to pull it all together.
|
|
|
|
| |
