The search for new elements, order in chaos and pre-islamic language
54The Man is curious and inventive: we look for new matter and fresh ideas, and we even struggle to achieve a better understanding of each other.
We live in a rainbow of chaos, but after this chaos often happens order. What can mathematics do in order to reveal this order? And look at the millions of substances we know. We know that they actually consist of a very limited number of chemical elements. Can we make elements that do not occur in nature? Finally, is the chaos in the Middle East to be countered by showing what their common ancestors wrote?
Original title: De Zoeker
Mathematical genius Artur Avila seeks order in chaos, he’s an expert in system dynamics and won the prestigious Fields Medal. He makes predictions about systems that develop according to a number of established rules. Of planets moving around a star to species that increase or decrease over time. He thus creates order in what seems to be chaos.
Yuri Oganessian is the only living scientist that named an element in our Periodic Table of Elements. The super heavy element number 118 has been officially named: Oganesson. He has been working from the beginning in 1954 at the institute he is currently the managing director of: the Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions in Dubna.
Hani Hayajneh is a specialist of pre-islamic civilizations. He searches for inscriptions on rock walls and basalt stones left behind by passing bedouin. Writings that are similar to twitter messages, but from a pre-Islamic era. The time that today's islamists denigrate by calling it “the age of ignorance”. Hayajneh is professor of pre-Islamic languages and cultures at the Yarmouk University in Jordan and Unesco Ambassador for the (im) Material Heritage in the Middle East. His language knowledge of (modern and) dead languages such as the Aramaic, Phoenician, Palmyreens and Nabatees is unmatched. That broad knowledge enables him to make new cross-links in the research into ancient cultures. Cross-links that he hopes can also strengthen the links between contemporary people.
The Mind of the Universe is an international science documentary series and open source platform about the rapid evolution of our knowledge. It explores the human destiny and the world of tomorrow through the eyes of the greatest thinkers and scientists of our time. In each episode, a typical human quality takes centre stage, in which the scientists and their research are embedded.
Originally broadcasted by VPRO in 2017.
© VPRO Backlight June 2017
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Credits:
Presented by: Robbert Dijkgraaf
Editor in chief and script: Rob van Hattum
Direction & Editor: Kees Brouwer, Gijs Swantee, Sander Cijsouw
Research: Frederique Melman, Remy van den Brand, Anna Gimbrere, Wiesje Kuijpers, Gerko Wessel
Production: Madeleine Somer, Jordy van Langen (stage), May-Linn Tsiang (stage)
Cross Media Manager: Eef Grob
Redaction: Elmar Veerman, Marijn van der Waa, Bram van Dijk (stage), Imani van Oosterhout (stage), Yfke van der Ploeg (stage)
Media Manager & Assistant: Olivier Schuringa, Pardis Faqiri (stage)
Camera: Chris Blokhuis, Hans Bouma, Martijn Cousijn, Jacko van ’t Hof, Job Kraaijeveld, Sjoerd Vogel, Karsten Hohmann
Sound: Daan Arens, Dennis Kersten, Jillis Schriel, Mark Witte,Gregor Koppenburg, Bidisha Das, Pedro Rodriques da Silva
Translation: Lei Fang, Sasja Yakovleva, Alexandra de Vries
Script editing: Caroline Ligthart
Editing: Jeroen van den Berk, Sander Cijsouw, Tim van der Maden, Olivier van der Zee
Design: Jurriaan Schalken
Composition: Jos Jansen (Big Orange)
International partners and Education: Fred Mulder
In cooperation with: Tijl van Huijkelom
English, French and Spanish subtitles: Ericsson.
French and Spanish subtitles are co-funded by European Union.