NOVA leads viewers on a mathematical mystery tour -- a provocative exploration of math's astonishing power across the centuries. We discover math's signature in the swirl of a nautilus shell, the whirlpool of a galaxy and the spiral in the center of a sunflower. Math was essential to everything from the first wireless radio transmissions to the prediction and discovery of the Higgs boson and the successful landing of rovers on Mars. But where does math get its power? Astrophysicist and writer Mario Livio, along with a colorful cast of mathematicians, physicists and engineers, follows math from Pythagoras to Einstein and beyond, all leading to the ultimate riddle: Is math an invention or a discovery? Humankind's clever trick or the language of the universe?

NOVA: The Great Math Mystery

Dutch graphic artist MC Escher created some of the most famous graphic illusions in 20th century popular culture. He inspired artists, designers and film directors. Yet his most profound impact was on a different field to art entirely – mathematics.  Cosmologist Professor Sir Roger Penrose is one of the world’s leading mathematicians. His research into black holes with Stephen Hawking transformed our understanding of the big bang. In this film, coinciding with the first ever major UK retrospective of Escher’s work Professor Penrose now reveals how his own mathematical sketches inspired some of Escher’s best-known masterpieces.