'The Code' (BBC2) looks at the role of numbers and numerical patterns in life, architecture, the Universe and everything. Ably presented by Macus du Sautoy (host of an excellent series about mathematicians on Radio 4), the programme considers the hidden patterns all around us that are either invisible or totally ignored. Now ‘thetvreviewguy’ is by no means a maths guru and likes his sums prepared and presented in a simple manner; du Sautoy tries his best to do just this. We are reintroduced to the wonders of Pi and how it can help us guess the weight of fish (something to do with standard deviation). Pi has some interesting qualities, which ‘thetvreviewguy’ can’t go into now for time reasons, but, needless to say, you can do stuff with it. Radar would not exist were it not for imaginary numbers; yes, we could fly without radar but we’d be crashing an awful lot more. Magical proportions in architecture have always been a staple for cod fiction but du Sautoy presents a mathematical dissection of Chartres Cathedral, where lines, triangles and squares underlie the whole shape and structure of the building. Musical chords and harmony were cited as another example of where 'The Code’ kicks in and anyone familiar with dissonant compositions will know how initially jarring they can sound. The BBC excels at this sort of TV – educational and entertaining fare, unembarrassed to undertake, in a previously much derided phrase, a ‘mission to explain’. Mathematics and numbers are everywhere and even if we don’t understand most of it, people like du Sautoy are there to help us try. For ‘thetvreviewguy’, ‘The Code’ is numero uno.
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