After a brief hiatus, Numb3rs is back, with another kidnapping episode. As usual, spoilers abound..
Plot Summary: Series of store robberies and two murdered teens lead to a gang of counterfeiters, who kidnapped an artist and forced her into doing note sketches for them. If Don, Charlie, and the rest of their merry men can't find her in time, it's lights out !
This is a good "character development episode", with backstory about Don's love life being revealed. I guess the producers didn't have the courage to go all CSI/Law and Order/Law and Order SVU/Law and Order CI/Law and Order WillYouStopWithAllTheSpinoffs on us and dispense with the characters' backgrounds. Pity...(Yes, I know this is a frequent rant, but ...)
As I always say, if you want character development, don't read this blog ! My heart races when they say 'wavelets', which in fact they did. Local cop refers to a 'video-enhancement algorithm' that Charlie has developed, and I was wondering when wavelets would come up. As it turns out, there are scenes with pictures of what appear to be wavelet basis functions (though they didn't look like Haar wavelets at least).
I have now seen 7 episodes of Numb3rs, and in these seven episodes, Charlie uses statistical modelling, attacks P vs NP, does cryptography, understands advanced number theory, knows civil engineering, is a mean hacker and consults on string theory problems. Not to mention having tenure. So my question is: What could Charlie's field of specialization possibly be ? I mean, what on earth could he have written a thesis in ? The 'professor of applied math' part could cover the modelling and the civil engineering, but the rest ? And does he not know that at certain universities, math department professors wrinkle their noses when a professor of 'applied math' walks by ? I have certain departments in mind, but I'm not naming names ;)
Best/Most inane line of the episode: Charlie's grad student (who appears to be a wavelet expert as well as a combinatoricist), says 'In combinatorics, sometimes we vary the angle of attack'.
In algorithms, sometimes we eat the sugared candy...
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"And does he not know that at certain universities, math department professors wrinkle their noses when a professor of 'applied math' walks by ?"
ReplyDeleteWhy should they wrinkle their noses? Were not the greatest mathematicians of all time "applied mathematicians?" I'm thinking of Riemann, Gauss, Euler and, of course, Archimedes. Archimedes not only came close to discovering integration about 2,000 years before Leibniz but he was also an engineer.
Posted by Rafael
you don't need to convince me :). all theoretical computer scientists are "applied mathematicians" at some level.
ReplyDeletePosted by Suresh
"In algorithms, sometimes we eat the sugared candy"
ReplyDeletecan I quote you on that?
If you ever figure out Charlie's specialization, let me know. I want some of that juice.
Posted by Alex
"In combinatorics, sometimes we vary the angle of attack" - I thought she meant a projective transformation, which would make sense with an artist anyway. I admit the wording is a little flakey...
ReplyDeletePosted by Oscar
I loved the reference to "the Dartmouth professor who used similar techniques to authenticate works of art." I just hear that professor speak on that topic a month ago. REALLY interesting stuff. And it meant I could totally understand how Charlie applied the techniques to determine the artist who drew the bills was different from before.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed they use REAL science here, not just hand-waving and hocus-pocus.
Posted by Stew
blah... numb3rz pwns u
ReplyDeletePosted by Anonymous
I am looking for what the name of the illusion from when you tilt the paper to reveal a picture. Looking at it straight on it looked like just lines but when the paper was tilted it created the address. What is the name of it? If you could help me that would be great thank you.
ReplyDeletePosted by David
I am looking for what the name of the illusion from when you tilt the paper to reveal a picture. Looking at it straight on it looked like just lines but when the paper was tilted it created the address. What is the name of it? If you could help me that would be great thank you.
ReplyDeletePosted by David
Hmm. it's been a while, and I don't remember any more. This is a good site though for more detailed numb3rs stuff.
ReplyDeletePosted by Suresh
The picture illusion is called Anamorphosis
ReplyDeleteI've watched the DVD of this episode. Amita does not say "angle of attack", she says "angle of observation".
ReplyDelete