Underplayed Gems

Numbers: The Universal Language (2001)

Numbers: The Universal Language poster
Original title
L'empire des nombres
Directed by
Philippe Truffault
Genre
documentary film
Country
France
Runtime
53 min
Rating
9.5 of 10 from 2 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This documentary explores the history and cultural impact of numbers. It shows how different civilizations used mathematics and how numbers became a universal language.

educationalcontemplativeneutralinformativemeasuredhistoricalanalyticallow-key

What happens

Numbers: The Universal Language (French: L'empire des nombres, lit. 'The Empire of Numbers') is a 1996 illustrated monograph on numbers and their history. Written by the French historian of science Denis Guedj, and published in pocket format by Éditions Gallimard as the 300th volume in their "Découvertes" collection (known as "Abrams Discoveries" in the United States, and "New Horizons" in the United Kingdom). The book was adapted into a documentary film of the same title in 2001. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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