Normally, when you think about math, the word “creativity” doesn’t readily come to mind. Playing his best devil’s advocate, Robert Krulwich challenges the panel to explain the “beauty” of a formula or the “elegance” of a proof. Is math a kind of art? Can a great mathematical idea be compared to a work of Shakespeare? Can it be poetry in numbers, or ideas? Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy and author Simon Singh explain how, once one gets past arithmetic and into the big ideas driving mathematics, it can become a highly creative, artistic, and even emotionally charged endeavor.
More from this series: Mathematical Universe

This program is part of The Big Idea Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Recorded June 2011; Posted November 2011