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Weirder and Weirder

   2018    Science
Dr Hannah Fry explores a paradox at the heart of modern maths, discovered by Bertrand Russell, which undermines the very foundations of logic that all of maths is built on. These flaws suggest that maths isn't a true part of the universe but might just be a human language - fallible and imprecise. However, Hannah argues that Einstein's theoretical equations, such as E=mc2 and his theory of general relativity, are so good at predicting the universe that they must be reflecting some basic structure in it. This idea is supported by Kurt Godel, who proved that there are parts of maths that we have to take on faith.
Hannah then explores what maths can reveal about the fundamental building blocks of the universe - the subatomic, quantum world. The maths tells us that particles can exist in two states at once, and yet quantum physics is at the core of photosynthesis and therefore fundamental to most of life on earth - more evidence of discovering mathematical rules in nature. But if we accept that maths is part of the structure of the universe, there are two main problems: firstly, the two main theories that predict and describe the universe - quantum physics and general relativity - are actually incompatible; and secondly, most of the maths behind them suggests the likelihood of something even stranger - multiple universes.
We may just have to accept that the world really is weirder than we thought, and Hannah concludes that while we have invented the language of maths, the structure behind it all is something we discover. And beyond that, it is the debate about the origins of maths that has had the most profound consequences: it has truly transformed the human experience, giving us powerful new number systems and an understanding that now underpins the modern world.
Series: Magic Numbers

What Happened Before The Big Bang

   2010    Science
Where did everything in our universe come from? How did it all begin? For nearly a hundred years, we thought we had the answer: a big bang some 14 billion years ago. But now some scientists believe that was not really the beginning; our universe may have had a life before this violent moment of creation. Take the ultimate trip into the unknown, to explore a dizzying world of cosmic bounces, rips and multiple universes, and finds out what happened before the big bang. Horizon takes the ultimate trip into the unknown, to explore a dizzying world of cosmic bounces, rips and multiple universes, and finds out what happened before the big bang.

What is Life

   2013    Science
From the Philippines to the US, Madagascar and Mexico, Professor Brian Cox explores the globe to reveal how a few fundamental laws of science gave birth to the most complex and unique feature of the universe - life. In the first episode, Brian journeys to the volcanic landscapes of South-East Asia, seeking to understand how life first began and how that spark has endured to this day.
Series: Wonders of Life

What is the Secret of Life

   2010    Science
The story of how the secret of life has been examined through the prism of the most complex organism known - the human body. It begins with attempts to save the lives of gladiators in Ancient Rome, unfolds with the macabre work and near-perfect drawings of Leonardo in the Renaissance, through the idea of the 'life force' of electricity, to the microscopic world of the cell. It reveals how a moral crisis unleashed by work on the nuclear bomb helped trigger a great breakthrough in biology - understanding the structure and workings of DNA.
Series: The Story of Science

What is the Universe Made of

   2018    Science    HD
This series takes viewers on a journey to the frontiers of science, where researchers are tackling some of the biggest questions about life and the cosmos. The universe is hiding something. In fact, it is hiding a lot. Everything we experience on Earth, the stars and galaxies we see in the cosmos—all the 'normal' matter and energy that we understand—make up only 5% of the known universe. The other 95% is made up of two mysterious components: 'dark matter' and 'dark energy.' We can’t see them, but we know they’re there. And what’s more —these two shadowy ingredients are locked in an epic battle to control the very fate of the universe.
Now, scientists are trying to shed light on the so-called 'dark sector' as the latest generation of detectors rev up, and powerful telescopes peer deeper into space than ever before to observe how it behaves. Will the discoveries help reveal how galaxies formed? In the series finale, Nova Wonders journeys to the stars and back to investigate what we know —and don’t know. Find out how scientists are discovering new secrets about the history of the universe, and why they’re predicting a shocking future.
Series: Nova Wonders

What Makes a Psychopath

   2017    Culture
Psychopaths have long captured the public imagination. Painted as charismatic, violent predators lacking in all empathy, they provide intrigue and horror in equal measure. But what precisely is a psychopath? What is it that drives them to cause harm, even kill? And can they ever be cured? The film also features a series of candid interviews with prison inmates who not only describe their crimes but why they think they committed them.
'What Makes a Psychopath?' explores not only how each individual's crimes were shaped by their own life experiences, but also gives an insight into how these people think and behave. Working with the world's experts in the field, the film sheds light on the biological, psychological and environmental influences that shape a psychopath. And it looks to the future, with ground-breaking research that suggests a lifetime of incarceration is not the only option to manage violent and dangerous psychopaths.