Me, Myself and Muziboo

I watched the movie Pi recently. It is a gripping movie about a number theorist by name Max, who is obsessed about unraveling the mystery of nature by understanding number patterns. There is one dialogue between Max and his mentor that brought a twinkle to my eyes. Reading this would not spoil the fun of watching the movie if you plan to. Hence, read on…

Mentor: You remember Archimedes of Syracuse? eh?

The king asks Archimedes to determine if a present he received is solid gold.

Unsolved problem at that time. I tortures the great Greek mathematician for weeks. Insomnia haunts him and he twists and turns in his bed for nights on end. Finally, an equally exhausted wife, forced to share a bed with this genius, convinces him to take a bath, to relax.

While he is entering the tub, he notices the bath water rise.

Displacement – A way to determine volume and thus a way to determine density. Weight over volume and thus Archimedes solves the problem.

He screams “Eureka!” and runs naked to the king to report his discovery.

Now, what is the moral of the story?

Max: That, a breakthrough will come

Mentor: Wrong! the point of the story is the wife. Listen to your wife, she’ll give you perspective.

Meaning, you need a break or you’ll get nowhere