Donald in Mathmagic Land

 

Philosophy  of   Science

Professor  Izady  

Bernarda  Franco

Oct.  13,  2017 Donald  in  Mathmagic Land

The documentary “Donald  in Mathmagic  Land” is a film interpreted  in  cartoon form  that  talks about Math and how it is   incorporated not  only  in math formulas but also in music, architecture,  modern  games,  etc.  The film  starts  off with  Donald  Duck when  he discovers  an unfamiliar world  that  is  replete  with  numbers  and mathematic symbols, both  literal and abstract.  The film  continues  with Donald duck  wandering  the  foreign place  until  the  narrator   of   the  film begins a conversation  with Donald and  explains to  him that  he  is  in  Mathmagic  Land  and  takes  him  on  a journey   journey to to  ancient  Greece  to  show Donald  the  birth  of   Math  with Pythagoras. In  Greece Donald learns  the  relation between mathematics and music. Donald also  learns  that  Pythagoras  followers, the “Pythagoreans” had  a  secret society  to  share their   mathematical discoveries  and they  all had a  symbol;  a  pentagram  which  Donald later   learns  that  the  pentagram  is  composed  of   lines  which  are  all proportionate  and are in relation to  the golden section.  Donald  continues  his journey and learns the  way  this proportion  system can be  found in nature,  architecture, art,  etc. The narrator   introduces Donald  to  another   situation  where  Math is  found;  games  and sports. Donald  is  taught how  Chess,  Billiard  and baseball have proportional  dimensions  and are  played through mathematical   strategy.  The last  thing  Donald is taught in  the  film is how all shapes  are related  one way  or another and  they  are  used to  create  the  objects we use  in  the modern  world  such  as  balls, lenses,  wheels,  etc. At the end of   the  film  the  last  quote is said  “Mathematics is the alphabet in  which  God  has  written  the  Universe”. The purpose of   the  film  was very clear   from  the  beginning.  Even  if the  title  of   the film  was  not exhibited,  its purpose is  well  stated  during  the  process  of   the  movie.

 

Donald  entered a dark  world which  in the viewer’s understanding means that   it was undiscovered  or unfamiliar;  this  new  obscure world was  filled  with  numbers, which  gives the  impression  that  the  film has something  to  do  with mathematics. The movie is simple to  understand  in my opinion,  due to  the  fact that  the film is  in cartoon  form. If the  film  had been  portrayed  by  real  people in a  set,  the  point of   the movie  would  not  have been  as  clear   as  in the cartoon version. The reason  why it is  easy to  understand this specific film in cartoon  form  is because of   the  circumstances   that happen  throughout the  film  for instance, in  the  beginning  of   the  film Donald walks through  a dark  place  filled  with what  seems  to  be trees  but  are  actually  numbers portraying  to  be  trees,  or when  the narrator literally takes  Donald  to Ancient    Ancient  Greece. This  could  only be  done  in  cartoon  form  and  it is  easier   to  believe  for the audience since if the film was done  with real characters it would  be  impossible   to  take  someone  to ancient  greece  the  way  they  did in  the  cartoon.  This  is  why it is  easier for the  audience to  believe  and understand  what they see in  cartoons  no  matter   how unrealistic  it is  than to  see  real  people  in a film attempting  to  do  unrealistic   things. Although    Although the film is  not long,  it makes  it easier   to  watch  because  of   the  comedy  in  some  parts  of   the  film.  Another   strong  point in  the  film is when  the  narrator   relates  the  golden section and the proportions   of   a  pentagram  to  nature,  unlike architecture  of   games,  nature  is  something humans  cannot control  and  it is  both  fascinating   and mysterious  that  nature  follows  that proportion  system.  Although the film was was  very clear   and  well  illustrated,   there  are  a  couple  of   things that  can  be  improved.   One  of   them  being  the  way Donald Duck  speaks.  It is understandable   that  Donald is  a  character   that  was  invented  for children  but  even as  an adult,  It  is  sometimes difficult  to  understand  what  he  is  saying. Another   weak part  of   the film  in my  opinion is at  the  last  part when  the narrator shows Donald  how by  cutting shapes  or putting together   different   shapes  he can make  an object  that  we  use today in society  like cutting  a  sphere  we get a lens, rolling  a circle can make  a wheel,  etc. The

 

reason  why I believe  this  as  a  weak part  is  because  there  are  more  shapes  than  a circle,  a triangle  and a  rectangle;  there  are  an indefinite  number   of   shapes  and It  is possible  to  make  any  object by mixing together   different   shapes  and cutting  them to obtain  what  we  want. The film relates  to  the  lecture  in  class  about Chaos  to  Cosmos  that  talked about the  Philosophers  Pythagoras,  Thales  and Anaximenes  and their   theories about everything.   In  the  lecture,  it was mentioned  that  Pythagoras's  theory  was  “All is a harmonic  numerical   formula”.  The film explains  Pythagoras's  theory  about how every single  thing in the  world,  even  nature  and the  solar   system  which  are  things that humans  cannot control,  are  related to  the  concept of   proportions in  mathematics. The film was  appealing  since the  beginning  because  of   the ambiguity it produced with Donald traveling through  an unknown place.  The graphics  and animation  also help to  understand the concepts better. Another   Another aspect  that  I  appreciate  in  the  film is  that  the producers  turned  something that  is  supposed abstract into  literal objects (square  root  in the  movie  was  actual trees  square roots).  The thing  that  I liked  the  most about the  film is that  although  it is  an  educational   film,  it was  not  boring and at  the  end  it makes  you  go want  to  try  out  the  things shown  in the film like drawing  a  pentagram  or a  golden  section and  see  if they work  like they  shown  in the  film.