Learning geometry from television

August 6, 2012 8:59 PM

Help me remember this old video series that used early computer/video animation to illustrate geometry/calculus concepts.

I recall it being on a local PBS station. It consisted of type and primitive shapes that were used to show how geometric formulas were derived (circumference of a circle, area of a trapezoid/rhombus, etc) as well as estimations of pi and explained the concepts behind introductory calculus concepts like derivatives and integration. The backgrounds were very bland, and there was a male voice doing voice-over. The text would slide around to show how the components were being manipulated algebraically. It would have been on in the late 80s to early 90s.

posted by Wild_Eep to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

I remember some computer scientists from Swarthmore College working on something like this, which they demoed while I was at the local middle school. I think their group was called the Visual Geometry Project, or something like that, and they released VHS tapes of their work. Maybe. This was a long time ago, about 1989-1991-ish.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:52 PM on August 6, 2012

Sure it wasn't Physics? The Mechanical Universe. Aside from being about Physics vs mostly Geometry, it fits the description quite well.
posted by zengargoyle at 11:03 PM on August 6, 2012

Probably not this, but maybe the Mathman sketches from Square One?
posted by MsMolly at 6:41 AM on August 7, 2012

Response by poster: Mechanical Universe is very close, but I'm not sure that's it. I'll have to look more closely. As an avid watcher of Square One, Mathman definitely wasn't it. (I do miss Mathnet, though.)
posted by Wild_Eep at 9:21 AM on August 7, 2012