I'm looking for a 1950-ish science fiction movie. In the scene I most clearly remember, a man and a woman are on the bridge of an alien spaceship. She is a Russian mathematician and he is a pilot. The ship is being remotely controlled and is automatically flying through the solar system. It becomes clear that it is on a collision course with Saturn. [more inside]
posted by CollectiveMind on Sep 23, 2008 - 5 answers

I need help understanding how my hyper-smart geek husband's brain works. I want to give him the understanding he craves but am having a hard time inhabiting his plane. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 24, 2008 - 61 answers

Job suggestions for a PhD mathematician wanting to leave academia and enter industry? [more inside]
posted by leahwrenn on Aug 8, 2008 - 16 answers

I remember a story about a scientist or mathematician who noticed he slept increasingly more each night. The increase followed some kind of mathematical progression. When the amount reached 24 hours, he died. Who was he?
posted by 999 on Dec 28, 2007 - 11 answers

Why do mathematicians (and/or programmers) describe information passed to a function as an 'argument'? [more inside]
posted by b33j on Dec 13, 2007 - 14 answers