If a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, what more when one glimpses at eternity? BBC's David Malone has recently released an interesting documentary we thought the other math-lovers here would fancy, titled "Dangerous Knowledge."

The film covers four mathematicians: Georg Cantor, Ludwig Boltzmann, Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing. While they were noted for being among the most brilliant minds in the realm of mathematics, all four met the same tragic end of going insane and committing suicide. The film will tackle each of these men's inner thoughts, and the work that would eventually have them immortalized in human history... and locked away in mental asylums.

We've posted a video below,w if you're thoroughly interested in viewing the flick. Be warned, however, that this could take a while - Dangerous Minds is one-and-a-half hours long. Find yourself a comfy chair, a drink, and maybe some snacks - this could be a most interesting math lesson.

 

In the book "A Madman Dreams Of Turning Machines," author Janna Levin highlights the lives of great logical geniuses that go, for the lack of a better term at the moment, absolutely wonkers.

Is it really a coincidence that two of the greatest logical geniuses of the 20th century, through their own leaps off logic, killed themselves? Kurt Godel thought that people were out to poison him, so ended up dying of starvation. Alan Turing died from eating an apple laced with cyanide. The food poisoning theme seems to run deep as both are fascinated by "Snow White."

The novel from Levin delves into the lives and the philosophies of the two heralded geniuses and reflects on the nature of their supposed madness. The "story" consists of alternating scenes of the lives of Turing and Godel. Although a novel, all of the information are based on fact and published biographies.

This novel could be a good starting point for those interested in the nature of genius and how close it could be to mental disorder.