1. Mathematics – Pi 1998
Max Cohen is a sagacious number theorist who believes that nature is designed with mathematical patterns. Euclid – Max’s computer – is able to predict the stock market results accurately with a 216-digit number. Is it a fluke? Not known in the film. The golden spiral that Max notices around him is dominated with a unity of number dynamics similar to chaos theory – the key to unlock patterns – somehow.
Lenny, the Jewish character, is immersing himself into the Torah [the Holy instructions of being a righteous Jew], hoping to crack the code that is believed to be a message from God. He shows youGematria – words or phrases in Hebrew consisting of numerical value. Here is when the Fibonacci Sequence clues in. Eg. 55, 89, 144 – Add the two numbers preceding the last one you’ve got in your list and you get the sum [55 + 89 = 144]. What are the numbers before and after 144? The sad thing is, the numbers from 144 will never end, thus creating the spiral.
Perhaps, the most witty theory that you might come up with is this: [Don’t worry about Sol strongly opposing the concept of Numerology] Pi is roughly estimated to be 3.141. Add all the digits up, you get a 9. Meanwhile, when you add 216 together as singular digits, 9 tosses in. 9 symbolizes resolution in Biblical sense and it captures the emerging facade of a spiral. Though it is not revealed in the movie, you may probably have a feeling that the reason why Max gives up on his mission is because he has embraced his spirituality, unifying himself with the number written in his head.
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