Journey into Maths Country poster

TV series

Journey into Maths Country

20212 seasons8.5 / 10

Math is an exotic and confusing country. We speak a bizarre language, full of homeomorphisms, differential varieties, transfinite numbers. But we also find epic landscapes, dizzying ideas and even, sometimes, useful things!

Availability

Not streaming in United States

Journey into Maths Country premiered September 23, 2021. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.

Synopsis

Math is an exotic and confusing country. We speak a bizarre language, full of homeomorphisms, differential varieties, transfinite numbers. But we also find epic landscapes, dizzying ideas and even, sometimes, useful things!

Season 1 episodes

Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.

Episode 1

Benford’s Law

10m

Frank Benford observed that the number one seems to pop up a lot in both in the supermarket and on tax bills. In understanding this law, it helps to simply look at the world from a different perspective.

Where to watch Journey into Maths Country

Episode 2

Newton and the Infinitesimal Calculation

10m

Speed is such a common term that it's easy to forget how much of a role maths plays in understanding it. Until three or four centuries ago, there was no speed at all. It was only since the Renaissance that the concept of movement crept into the world of mathematics, thanks to calculus and Isaac Newton.

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Episode 3

To Infinity, and Beyond

10m

A circle is also a triangle and a triangle is a square. Sound impossible? Not in the realm of topology, which even applies to 3-dimensional spaces and anything from donuts, UFOs and potatoes. The discipline's inventor, Henri Poincaré, created one of the most difficult problems in mathematics.

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Episode 4

On the Road to Infinity

10m

In this episode of our travels in the land of maths, we are heading towards Infinity. And even beyond, because infinity comes in many sizes. That may seem strange, but Georg Kantor and his set theory will help us come to terms with this maths concept of dizzying scale.

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Episode 5

Gödel’s Theorem

10m

In this episode, we look at the relationship between maths and truth. Maths is meant to be certain, either right or wrong. Turns out, it’s not that simple. For Gödel's theorem has proved that there are “undecidable” theories, which one can neither prove nor disprove.

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Episode 6

The Prisoner’s Dilemma

10m

Two prisoners must choose between cooperation and betrayal without consulting each other. This famous prisoner's dilemma that will take us to the heart of game theory. We think mathematically about a very philosophical question: is it in our interest to collaborate with others?

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Episode 7

The Game of Life

10m

In October 1970 Scientific American magazine introduced a game under the heading “Mathematical Games” that quickly became a cult classic. The idea behind John Conway’s “Game of Life” is cellular automaton. The game’s creator hoped to help with the understanding, simulating or even recreation of life itself.

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Episode 8

Irrationality

10m

25 centuries ago, the well-ordered world of natural integers and fractions had to expand to accommodate monsters like π and √2. It's a dizzying mathematical expedition where we will realise that real life numbers are only the tip of the iceberg.

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Episode 9

A Complex Picnic

10m

We have known for a long time that some equations can't be solved as the answers are numbers that don't exist. Fortunately, a slew of mathematicians have uncovered a new field of numbers that now play a vital role in modern mathematics.

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Episode 10

The Riemann Hypopthesis

10m

End of the trips in the land of math with an arduous hike. It is better to be strong on the complex plane. Because it is about an unsolved mystery of mathematics, namely: the distribution of prime numbers. Riemann made a hypothesis considered as valid but still not proven, that is to say that it is not a walk in the park. Let's go slowly...

Where to watch Journey into Maths Country

Episode information updated Jul 25, 2026

More about Journey into Maths Country

Cast

Denis van WaerebekeNarrator (voice)

Production details

Status
Returning Series
Series type
Documentary
Episodes
20
Original language
French
Original title
Voyages au pays des maths

Networks & production

  • arte.tvFrance
  • Les Films d'IciFrance
  • ARTE GEIEFrance
  • Le BlobFrance
  • Les Films du poisson rougeFrance

Themes

mathematicianmathematicspopular science