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Comment from Claudia
Date: January 13, 2009, 11:22 pm

I love this short film. I would love to see more subtle instances of an idea. The guy’s hat and the water on the beach were my two favs.

Keep up the great work Radiolab!

Comment from jbl
Date: January 14, 2009, 3:35 am

Though it looks a lot like a parabola, many of the curves are (probably) catenaries. The catenary is a curve described by a function called a hyperbolic cosine (abbreviated cosh), and is the actual shape of any hanging length of chain. It is also the best shapes used by architects for free-standing self-supporting arches. The gateway arch in St Louis is a catenary.

On the other hand, the cables of suspension bridges follow a parabolic curve.

An interesting connection between the parabola and the catenary is that if you roll a parabola along a straight line, its focus will trace out a catenary.

None of this detracts from the beauty of the film.

Comment from james betz
Date: January 14, 2009, 1:20 pm

i think the hair on the bar of soap is probably the funniest.

great video

Comment from katie
Date: January 14, 2009, 6:36 pm

Like jbl, I noticed that few of the curves in the film are parabolas. Unlike him, I was distracted and bothered by this. Rather than riffing on the powerful idea of “natural law” raised in the interview excerpted, this piece seems impressed by the fact that there are curved things in the world. More attention to mathematical patterns, and less to vaguely similar shapes, would have been much more striking.

Comment from Brandon
Date: January 14, 2009, 6:40 pm

Beautiful. This was a nice surprise in the feed.

Comment from Rebekah
Date: January 14, 2009, 9:43 pm

I hate to repeat what others have already said, but the only reason I clicked on “comments” was the catenary issue that Katie and JBL mentioned. Just wanted to put my vote onto the side of those who are actually inspired by the manifestation of mathematics in the world. Maybe the video should have been about the catenary instead!

Comment from Veronica Vazquez
Date: January 14, 2009, 10:06 pm

I LOVE Steve Strogatz! He’s amazing and also a super nice guy. More Steve, more Steve, more Steve…yay!

Comment from Lee
Date: January 14, 2009, 11:11 pm

Excellent, and congratulations to director Will Hoffman.

The images, however, include catenaries and hyperbolas, along with parabolas. Perhaps a sequel can distinguish the physical interpretations that define these three curves.

Comment from James Caldon
Date: January 15, 2009, 12:24 am

Outstanding! I really enjoyed the photography in this.

I think Katie and Rebekah are, in a way, missing the point here. Going along with those comments, since catenaries and hyperbolas are beautiful mathematical patterns as well, I feel the filmmakers were trying to extrapolate from Steve’s monologue. Who cares if all the images aren’t parabolas? I think they did a fantastic job of creatively visualizing the segment.

I’d like to see more visuals from Radiolab myself. Well done!

Comment from Daniel Roberts
Date: January 15, 2009, 4:00 am

So super. Thanks Radio Lab! You guys never let me down.

Comment from Julie Wegner
Date: January 15, 2009, 5:33 am

Well, first off, this was a wonderful and pleasant surprise.

I think there’s a huge potential here, and the quiet, high-speed footage really suits the narrative tone of Radio Lab.

But, though I’m not a math buff, it irked me that few of the images shone were parabolas. That said, I think the images were beautifully put together and artfully chosen. I at first didn’t realize what they were there for, and kept waiting for more narration, but as I saw the icicle I realized what it meant. And, the mix of natural and man-made curves was very interesting, especially with the contrast between the sharp lines and deliberate curves versus the soft natural curves and occasional jagged patch.

Overall, really great idea here, but not the best execution for the particular subject.

I really look forward to seeing more like this, though, since even while inaccurate the images were simply beautiful.

Comment from Jessica
Date: January 15, 2009, 12:06 pm

I loved that video. By the end of the movie I was hearing in my mind, “parabola. parabola. parabola,” each time a wave touched the beach.

Comment from Jenn
Date: January 15, 2009, 4:41 pm

moving and beautiful. i love radio lab for the poetry and simplicity it brings to science, especially for those of us that are science-minded but not necessarily science-trained. i like wrapping my mind around the complexities. this is a nice start, but exploring the full picture is better.

Comment from Terry Robinson
Date: January 15, 2009, 6:14 pm

I was also disappointed that a lot of the parabolas were hyperbolic cosines. One of Radiolab’s powers is to investigate curious differences. “You thought these were all alike, well they’re not and they’re each beautiful” describes many radiolab episodes like reproductive organs in Sperm and the human brain in a handful of episodes.

Not a condemnation of the pretty episode but a warning that Radiolab has a high standard for rigor to be reached.

Comment from Pam
Date: January 15, 2009, 7:17 pm

The water tower is (I think?) in Holmdel, NJ, at the now closed Lucent Technologies building. The playground looks like one in Rumson, NJ, near the Navesink River. Anyone know for sure? I enjoyed seeing some nearby sights.

I enjoyed the short film. Great job, Radiolab!

Comment from benadair
Date: January 16, 2009, 10:13 am

You guys might also like this video about discs.

Comment from benadair
Date: January 16, 2009, 10:14 am

Oops. Couldn’t imbed. Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1qQ01eFLAg

Comment from XK9
Date: January 16, 2009, 10:50 am

Beautiful. More, please.

Comment from c
Date: January 16, 2009, 10:15 pm

Mmmm… I learned to enjoy poetry more when I realized it doesn’t HAVE to rhyme… thank you WH, DPB and the RadioLab guys!

Comment from Lisa
Date: January 17, 2009, 10:38 am

As a visual person continually fascinated with the mysteries of our world and NOT being a mathematician, I simply GET IT; the video captured the “sensation” of the mystery that we can all view if we look around us, as in pay attention. I wasn’t in need of a lesson in the specifics of curves, though fascinating in itself, don’t think that was the crux of the video.
Thanks for always throwing thoughts and ideas out there to inspire and conversate about Radio Lab!

L

Comment from Shawn
Date: January 17, 2009, 11:46 am

I have to say that I agree with the above. Maybe it’s the scientist in me, but I was slowly more annoyed by the number of images that didn’t describe a parabola at all. I love the idea of the occasional short video piece on the feed, but Terry’s got it right — there is a standard for rigor that I have come to expect from RadioLab, and this video made me just the tiniest bit sad inside. Keep trying!

Comment from Christian
Date: January 18, 2009, 2:52 am

I didn’t think the video was TRYING to show parabolas, but more how nature and the world we live in are full of mathematics and laws. That’s what I took from it. Honestly, I think the RadioLab folks are smarter than to simply get it wrong, like some of you are suggesting.

Hats off, RadioLab!

Comment from nate beaty
Date: January 18, 2009, 5:30 am

really beautiful short film, as beautiful as the visuals i get from your purely audio output! thanks for sharing it.

now i’m going to see parabolas everywhere, THANKS! haha. (and/or hyperbolic cosines, yeesh.)

Comment from Annie Rudnik
Date: January 18, 2009, 5:56 pm

Great video! But, please do not think about going into television. Do not become Ira Glass!

Comment from jgluzifer
Date: January 18, 2009, 11:05 pm

I just watched the video and also noticed the thing about the catenaries, and rushed over to this blog so I could be the first asshole to point this out, only to find that radiolab listeners are such a mathematically savvy bunch

and btw I hope you have more video tidbits in store, but urge that in keeping with the experimental sound editing of the radio show, you strive for more experimental forays into video–like if Bill Viola were a high school physics teacher or Carl Sagan was a devotee of Jack Smith.

Comment from owyhee
Date: January 19, 2009, 12:18 am

Beautifully done and more interesting I think because they were not all parabolas.

Note how he made the mistake of believing that there are laws of nature. Mathematics is a wonderful creation of man, a tool that helps us describes nature and a powerful predictor of the natural world. Nature continues to confound the physicists and mathematicians though, so as we peer deeper into its mysteries, we are greeted by more and more complexities.

Videos like this make me happy to be alive.

Comment from Becky
Date: January 19, 2009, 1:58 pm

I am entranced by the visual expression of the curve/parabola theme, and I love the video. However, when I listened to the podcast I was excited by the mathematician’s verbal exploration of natural parabolas (drinking fountains, rockets launched) whereas in the video, almost all of the instances were human-made or incidental. While the video was gorgeous, I would have liked to see some more examples of parabolas found in nature because of the underlying math and physics that cause their behavior.

Comment from Michael
Date: January 19, 2009, 4:32 pm

Gotta agree with the others above who were irked that the video featured so many non-parabolas. The whole point of the piece with Steve Strogatz was the sudden recognition that the same abstract mathematical pattern lies beneath a diversity of physical phenomena. Illustrating that with a plethora of examples that DON’T conform to the same mathematical pattern undercuts the thesis — it restores plurality and differentness and loses altogether the sense of “sameness” that underlies the notion of a natural law.

More succinctly and bluntly: it drives me freaking nuts when my high school and college math students use the word “parabola” to describe anything that’s U-shaped. Precision is important, especially when the message is so subtle and profound as the one being expressed here.

On purely artistic grounds the video was lovely, of course. But I wonder what Steve thought of it?

Comment from Lee
Date: January 19, 2009, 6:44 pm

Pam,
yes, the water tower is from the Bell Labs Holmdel building. See: http://www.PreservingHolmdel.com

Comment from Sara
Date: January 20, 2009, 12:50 am

Beautifully done, Will and Derek. I also noticed that they were not all parabolas and wondered what Steve said about that decision… but it is beautiful nonetheless. The music provides a poignant, perfect companion for the video.

More please!

Comment from ben ho
Date: January 20, 2009, 6:24 pm

Like others, I came here to complain that most of the curves weren’t parabolas. which seriously for me detracted from its aethstics. Though i do appreciate that it made me think hard about what shape each of those curves were.

Like the light from the lampshade was a good example of parabola. The true example of a conic section which is how we first learn what a parabola is.

Comment from RJHD3
Date: January 21, 2009, 7:16 pm

Did y’all watch “The Ring”? After watching the video I can’t help but feel something terrible will happen in seven days.

Comment from PJ
Date: January 24, 2009, 1:25 pm

The walkway next to the elevated road is at Newark Liberty Airport – yes?

Comment from PJ
Date: January 24, 2009, 2:04 pm

… by the way – the video was inspiring. For me, the exact attention to mathematics carries up to the fading of the graph paper. The rest was a very clever, artistic display of parabolas, truncated parabolas, and suggestions of parabolas that occur all around us. This video bridges the spoken descriptions to open our eyes to mathematical shapes occurring everywhere. Euclid, Archimedes, Galileo, and Baldessari are smiling.

Comment from Kurt
Date: January 25, 2009, 3:15 pm

I really really enjoyed the video. I can’t say that I even cared about what the shapes technically where and where not, I think it is nice to get some visual to go along with the amazing audio of the show. It very much made me think of TAL’s television series. Bravo.

Comment from Jake
Date: January 25, 2009, 4:12 pm

The curve from the lampshade is a hyperbola, not a parabola. I agree with other comments that it was a shame to call the video ‘parabolas’ if so many of the curves were nothing of the sort. There are examples you could have used – the shape of a jet of water rising and falling, or the convave surface of a stirred cup of coffee.

Comment from jenny
Date: January 29, 2009, 7:18 am

I loved this. I was a math nerd myself in high school (still am), and am always fascinated by numbers, seeing it as some kind of absolute truth unaffected by us, exists without condition.

This was exactly like me back then. I was looking around my high school campus after school one day and saw this shape pattern in the walls. I saw the shape in different perspectives all around me. I finally ran into my former geometry teacher’s classroom, drew the shape on her chalkboard, and asked her to remind me what that shape is. She pretended to be annoyed that I forgot, but happily informed me that it is a trapezoid. Parabolas served this video as trapezoids have served me.

As for the comments that not all the shots featured parabolas, they are true, but missing the point. Not just parabolas, but arcs and curves of all kinds exist in nature. And things that are man-made reflect our natural attraction towards incremental trends.

Comment from Anonymous
Date: January 29, 2009, 2:12 pm

Quote:

“Comment from benadair
Date: January 16, 2009, 10:14 am
You guys might also like this video about discs.”

Ben, I just realized you’re the Pacific Drift guy! I still think about that show 3 years later. It was way too short-lived.

Comment from Daniel Barkalow
Date: February 1, 2009, 3:45 am

Oddly, I found the catenaries annoying, but I liked the things that were parabolas or were neither. Of the things that were neither, I was most pleased by the conic sections.

I’d like to see a picture with a fountain and a lamp under a slanted ceiling such that the line from the filament through the edge of the shade furthest from the ceiling is parallel to the ceiling.

Comment from Lori
Date: February 11, 2009, 2:19 pm

What was the background music used? Was it your own creation? Very soothing…

Comment from Matt
Date: February 26, 2009, 6:53 pm

O.K., interesting resolution to the catenary/parabola debate: as it turns out the period of a pendulum is not quadratically related to the length, that is just the first term in the Taylor approximation. Similarly, the catenary is also a parabola to first order approximation. In that sense, almost any shape that changes direction (u shape) can be approximated as a parabola, a fact with important physical consequences.