1
I find any communication
of a non-mathematical
nature very difficult.
Because I don't talk much, people
think I don't have anything to say,
or that I'm stupid.
And that's not true.
I have lots of things to say.
I'm just afraid to say them.
I know that I'm
strange in lots of ways.
I think I see the world in a
different way to other people.
I've always been like that.
Would you like to play with it?
Are you scared it will eat you?
No.
Is it because it's a toy?
No. Because stegosauruses
aren't carnivores.
So, Nathan, what do you like?
I imagine there's things
that you don't like.
Maybe, say, when
meal times change?
Yes. Yes, he is fussy
about his food.
Nathan?
Nathan?
I... I like patterns.
And what does it feel like
to see a good pattern?
Nice.
They're pretty colours.
So, it's positive. Nathan is
certainly on the spectrum.
Traits of autism combined
with synaesthesia,
sensitive to a change
in light and pattern.
These can be gifts, of course, but they
do come with some big challenges,
socially and emotionally, which
will stay with Nathan all of his life.
But there is no question; That
he's a unique young man.
Give Mum a wave. Bye, Mum.
Bye.
Bye.
You know what I was thinking?
You know, sometimes
it might seem like
we don't always understand
what it's like to be you.
It's like you've got
these special powers,
like a wizard.
And we're just Muggles that
don't understand how you do it.
It's like a different
language to us.
But even though we don't always
understand each other, Nath,
it doesn't mean that any of us
ever stops loving each other.
Does that make sense?
Nathan, look at me.
But you shouldn't be afraid.
Sweetheart
What have you done to us?
I turned my back and
you turned to dust
What have you done?
And, Please
Just come here,
don't fight with me
And I admit
Think you may have broken It
Yeah, I admit
Come here, darling. Come here.
Just hold my hand.
Please, Nathan. Nathan, just
hold my hand. Just this once.
It's okay. We'll do this together.
Come here, darling.
Darling, come on.
Nathan. Please,
don't. No, Nathan!
Hey.
Gosh.
That looks complicated.
That's not schoolwork then?
Wait, why don't you try
and explain it to me?
I might be able to help you.
You can't.
Why not?
You're not clever enough.
So, Nathan, this
is the big school.
When you're older, you'll
go here every single day.
Watch out.
We're just gonna
start things early.
It's nothing to be
frightened about.
Don't run in the corridor.
Excuse me.
Excuse me!
There you go.
That's subtle.
- Really subtle.
- What? We're not... We're not doing anything.
"We're not... We're not...
We're not doing anything."
Give me that now!
Is this drugs?
Go on, piss off.
We're so lucky.
- Mr. Humphreys.
- Yep.
- Can I have a quick word?
- Yeah.
How old are you? Five?
No, Nathan is nine.
His mum got in touch because of
Nathan's rather advanced interest
in numbers and patterns and his primary
schoolwork was no longer testing.
I can see why,
yeah. Bit of algebra.
Distance geometry.
Where'd you learn
all this, mate?
Mr. Humphreys just joined
our maths department.
He was a bit of a maths whizz
when he was young, Nathan.
- Not really, it was a long time ago.
- No, no, no.
He competed in the International
Mathematical Olympiad.
- Olympiad?
- Olympiad, yes. The IMO.
Did you know you could win
medals for maths, Nathan?
Just like sport, only for people who are
really, really strong up here instead.
Mrs. Ellis, if Mr.
Humphreys is willing
I think that we can absolutely begin offering
Nathan some special advanced tuition.
Can't we?
Okay, yeah.
Why don't you walk properly?
That's very direct of you.
I've got multiple sclerosis.
What about you?
Why are you weird?
I've got special powers.
Can you fly?
Can you turn things to ice?
Are you really good at maths?
Yeah. Fair play.
Well, listen, I should tell you,
I'm not a very good teacher.
I barely encourage
myself to get out of bed,
let alone inspire some
kid with special powers
who wants to spend all his
spare time doing maths.
So as long as we're clear.
What's that for?
It's to give it a shake.
It's my hand, isn't it?
- It's what men do when they agree.
- I don't like doing that.
Yeah, well, we all have to do
things we don't like doing,
but we fucking do them,
don't we? So give it here.
What does "fucking" mean?
All in good time, son.
Right then.
We'll start with some
probability, shall we?
Like what's the probability of me
remembering any of this shit.
I can't hear you.
I said, let's do tree
diagrams, shall we?
Mr. Humphreys?
Yes, Mr. Ellis.
What was the Olympiad like?
Mind your own business, nosy.
Boom.
Do you know what this means?
Go on, Sir Nod-A-Lot, tell
me, what does it mean?
A toss.
Toss?
How dare you?
Yeah, the coin toss. Well done.
"The International
Mathematical Olympiad"
"is the most prestigious mathematical
competition for high school students.".
Round of applause
for United Kingdom!
"It represents a great opportunity
to see how they measure up"
"against students from
the rest of the world."
"China hold the record for 11 IMOs in
which they have secured gold medals"
"for all six members
of their team."
Number theory.
"The hardest problem ever at the
IMO was question five in 1996."
'Let A, B, C, D, E, F
be a convex hexagon
"such that AB is parallel to DE."
"BC is parallel to EF"
"and CD is parallel to FA."
Nathan! Breakfast!
"Let RA, RC, RE denote
the circum radii"
"of triangles FAB, BCD,
DEF respectively."
Nathan! Breakfast!
"And let P denote the
perimeter of the hexagon."
Nathan! Breakfast!
"Prove that RA plus RC plus RE"
"is greater than or
equal to P over 2."
Here.
- It doesn't matter if you don't get in.
- Of course it matters.
Got twisted. Okay? Good.
Good luck.
- Get a job.
- You get a job.
- I'm trying. I've handed CVs out.
- You've got a CV?
Yeah, obviously. I don't wanna
sit on me arse all day, you know.
- And even If I do, you're sat next to me.
- No, I'm not.
Yeah, you are. Joined
at the friggin' hip.
Are you listening to
our conversation?
- No.
- What?
- No, I wasn't.
- Are you sure about that?
- Better not be.
- No.
- You're late.
- Sorry, mate.
I had a quick look
at it first. Shh.
It's a piece of piss, really.
Well, not really, but...
You know, just do your best.
It's the biggest day of
your life, mate, innit?
Don't feel any pressure.
I'm a bit nervous.
Are you nervous?
- A little bit.
- Well, you shouldn't be.
Because you're brilliant.
Are you ready?
Yeah.
Yeah?
On your marks, get set...
Go on, my son.
I'll just be over
there, out the way.
"Question one."
"Are there infinitely many pairs
of positive integers such..."
"Question one."
"Are there infinitely many
pairs of positive integers"
"such that both m divides
n squared plus one and..."
"Are there infinitely many
pairs of positive integers"
"such that both m divides n squared plus
one and that n divides m squared plus one?"
When will we find out?
About a week, probably.
It's all right, male. Relax to
the Max. Take a chill pill.
Talking of which,
this hill's a killer.
Do you mind if we
take the weight off?
- Can I ask you a question?
- Hang on.
Go on then, hit me.
- Hit you?
- Ask me the fucking question!
Why did things go wrong
for you, at the Olympiad?
There's lots of reasons, really.
My "thing" was kicking
off around that time.
My ailment.
Cutting me down in
the prime of my life.
I just sort of lost it.
I can't lose it.
Nathan, you haven't gotta
prove anything, all right?
What's important is that you enjoy
doing it, maths, and you do, don't you?
So whether you get
on the team or not,
you're gonna do amazing
things in the future.
You haven't.
Well, thanks a lot.
You charming little bastard.
Hi. Hi.
Um, can I order
number 47, please,
with, um,
seven prawn balls and a
small chips, thank you.
It come with six
balls, number 47.
Yeah, I know. Usually...
Sorry, are you new?
It's just we come
here all the time
and it's usually just fine,
you give us an extra ball.
Number 48 is a large
prawn ball meal.
You get nine balls, large
chips and crackers.
Yeah, I know.
No. Sorry.
Sorry.
No, he doesn't like, um, crackers
and he likes to have a small chips.
I'm sorry, it's just...
My son, he's quite picky
and he needs the meal
number to be a prime number
and there to be a prime
number of prawn balls.
And, um,
if he had nine balls it
wouldn't be a prime number
and number 48 isn't...
Isn't... Isn't a prime...
Is it? Is it? I don't
know. Yes, I do.
Um, yes, no, I'm right.
- Is that okay?
- Yeah.
There we go. A big
fat "well done".
It's all spilt out.
No, no, it's fine. Nathan, Nathan,
don't get upset. It's fine.
- No, Mum, it's not fine.
- It's fine.
- You don't do anything right.
- I'm sorry?
Everything you do is wrong.
Well, I'm sorry, okay?
Thank you so much!
Sorry.
That doctor didn't know his herbivores
from his carnivores, did he?
And do you know why?
Because he's not
as smart as you.
Is there someone else you
know that has what you have?
Einstein.
Okay.
But...
I just want you to know
that you're fine the
way you are, Nathan.
So do you want one of them ice
cream things for dessert or what?
- Dad!
- What?
No! Not again.
- What do I do? Do I lean forward?
- No, back!
Back? No, this is a disaster.
I know. I know. Give me this.
As promised, I
come bearing news.
Are you sure it's okay if I stand out
here? I don't wanna put you out.
- Yeah.
- Invite me in, Nathan.
- Come in.
- Thank you very much.
Put the kettle on, then.
- Put the kettle on what?
- It's okay. I'll do it.
- Hi, Julie.
- Hi, Mr. Humphreys.
- How are you?
- Very good, thank you.
- Thanks for coming round.
- I got it.
My goodness. Is that
what I think it is?
I hope so, otherwise it would
have been a wasted journey.
Um, you open it.
- You want me to open it? All right then.
- Yeah.
Dear Mr. Ellis, I am writing to
let you know that unfortunately...
"...you have successfully earned a place
on the United Kingdom maths squad!"
My goodness! Nathan, darling.
- Well, that's good news, isn't it?
- My gosh!
- Well done, mate.
- Well done.
Why is that unfortunate?
No, I was having a joke, mate.
It says the training camp's
in Taiwan this year.
- Have you ever been on a plane before?
- No. He's not.
- Well, that's exciting, isn't it?
- Um...
But...
I should study.
- Are you leaving now, or...
- Nathan.
He doesn't mean that.
Probably, yeah.
- Okay.
- Well...
- I'm gonna go and study.
- Okay.
Well done, mate.
- He is pleased. He's...
- I know he is, yeah.
I'm gonna have something stronger
than a cup of tea, actually, I think.
- I'm gonna have a glass of wine.
- Okay.
Would you like...
I should probably shoot off.
Okay, no, that's fine.
But I mean, if you're
gonna have one.
Actually, I was thinking maybe,
you know you'd like to...
To join us next month,
take him to the airport.
I know that would
make Nathan happy.
I should probably tell
you before they...
I'm taking a bit of
a break from work.
It's a bit of a forced break.
It's a bit like I'm
being fired, basically.
I'm sorry.
But I wanted to say to you
even though I'm not working
for the school any more, I'd really
like to carry on teaching Nathan.
- Really?
- Yeah. I mean, if that's all right with you?
- That would be amazing.
- Obviously for no money.
Jesus Christ!
My God!
That's a bit of a weird one.
- Thanks for the drink and stuff.
- Not at all.
- Don't worry about it. All right.
- Yeah, no, good.
- Will you be all right? Okay.
- Yeah. Cheers, Julie. Thank you.
- Thank you. Take care.
- All right.
We were just talking, Nathan.
I was looking at Jupiter.
I didn't do it on purpose.
It was just...
It was just nice, you know,
to have someone to talk to.
For once. For me.
Sometimes I feel a bit alone.
Okay.
What else can we write?
Numbers? Say a prime number.
- Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly.
- 353.
353!
Whoa!
Just in time.
Perfect timing.
Fireworks night again, is it?
He's letting you hold
his hand, isn't he?
The sparkler helps.
Come on, Nathan.
It's time to change the fish.
If you come now you can get
an extra scoop of ice cream.
Extra scoop of Ice cream.
And what do I get?
- You don't get anything.
- Go ahead, go ahead.
- I'm lucky.
- Yeah, you get me.
I like a man in a shed.
- Go and get me ice cream.
- But you're not getting...
I told you, you're not getting...
Ice cream, Julie!
Nathan?
Jesus.
Nathan!
Nathan, It's okay.
Nathan, I'm not angry.
Nathan!
Michael? Michael?
- Everything all right?
- Yeah.
I'm quite looking FORWARD
to this in a weird sort of way.
Yeah, I know.
Little trip down memory Lane.
- Okay. We all ready?
- Hang on.
This is for you.
Nathan...
What do you say?
- Thank you.
- Well, I used to use them,
so they're probably cursed.
But, you know, it might remind
you of home or something.
- Very lovely of you.
- Right then.
- Shall we get this show on the road?
- Yep. Let's go.
Nathan?
Can you get in
the back with me?
Nathan, I think Mr. Humphreys will
be more comfortable in the front.
It's okay, darling.
Darling, darling, it's okay.
I'll drive carefully.
No, It's all right.
I'm actually surprisingly bendy.
Christ.
It's Tricky Dicky. Look out.
All right, Richard?
Martin Humphreys. '95.
Humphreys! Yeah,
hell's teeth. Yes.
Yes. The last I heard,
you were, um...
- Teaching, was it?
- Yes.
Yeah. At what
university? I can't...
- It's a secondary school.
- Yeah.
Wasted opportunity, this one.
So what are you doing here?
You flying off to Ibiza?
Fleeing the world of reason and rationality
for some hallucinogenic escape?
No, I'm dropping
this one off, actually.
Nathan Ellis, I presume. Yes.
The dragon.
And where have you
been lying dormant?
It's not often we have a mind like
yours spring up off the radar.
He's mine.
I mean, I'm his... Um,
I've been teaching him.
The plot thickens.
Well, we'll get you
signed in, shall we?
Just a quick goodbye
and then avanti.
Well, Nathan, darling.
Um...
You got your phone
on you? Yeah?
Yeah.
Make sure you ring me as
soon as you land, yeah?
- All right. Bye, then.
- Bye.
Sorry.
Time to meet your
peers, Nathan.
Mingle. Mingle.
Um, watch your step, there's
a chess game going on.
Hey. How do you do?
How do I do what?
I mean, what's your name?
- Nathan.
- I'm Isaac.
I'm guessing this is your first
maths camp? You'll be fine.
Best thing is just to dive in.
Come. Sit down.
I mean, can you believe
the Chinese team?
They won six golds
again last year.
Yes, although upon recent evidential
proof I'd expect this to possibly change,
if I'm allowed to split
infinitives, to possibly change.
Which I believe I
technically am now.
Of course, one of the most
famous infinitive splits of all time
came in the introductory lines of
Star Trek, "to boldly go," and...
I think if the writers of a popular
American television series
can get away with it for 40
years, then, really, any of us can.
Don't worry, he's
always like this.
Everyone, this is Nathan.
- Hi, Nathan.
- Hello, Nathan.
Hi, I'm Pav.
Paf?
P-A-V, Pav.
Pav is from India. Pav.
Actually I'm from
Chipping Norton.
Yes, but of course I meant your
origins, not your birthplace,
before we open that
little Pandora's box.
Dear!
Seat belts on, please.
Seat belts on.
Right, don't sit at the front next
to the driver, that's my seat.
Right, away you go, driver.
Now, you are 16 of the cleverest
young brains in this country.
Now, outside you might be
considered nerds or geeks
or whatever the insult
du jour might be.
But here, you are
among kindred spirits.
Now, assuming you're
capable of basic arithmetic,
you'll know that there are six places
available yet more than six of you.
Which means that this, to a large
extent, is about whittling you down.
Now, we will be training with four
other national teams in Taiwan.
And after some delicate
diplomatic negotiation,
I can confirm that the
Chinese will be one of them.
Now we should, of
course, be cordial
as it falls to us to host the
competition this year, in Cambridge.
But that doesn't mean
we can't be ruthless.
Now, I want you up there with
the Chinese, top of the table.
And I will consider it an abhorrent
failure to include a candidate
who does not win a medal.
Be under no illusion.
This is all about winning.
Although that doesn't
mean it can't be fun.
55, 89, 144,
233, 377,
987, 1,597, 2,584.
I like the Fibonacci
sequence, too.
Invaluable for
music compositions.
So you're new.
Fresh meat.
How's that going?
Okay, so you're the shy type.
Makes a nice change,
to be honest.
Most of these weirdos just wanna show off
about how much maths junk they know.
What?
Nothing.
It's just I'm usually
the weird one.
They do all seem good
at maths, though.
Yeah.
Here you are neither weird nor the
best mathematician, I'm afraid.
You are painstakingly average.
Post-Olympiad of course,
I'll need to branch out into
modem theoretical physics if I'm
going to describe a unified field theory
for the four fundamental
forces of nature.
Are you one of the fundamental
forces of nature, Luke?
No.
But you are terribly
gifted, aren't you?
Yes. Gifted but not
arrogant, Isaac.
Here we are. Maths
camp, Taipei.
Your home for the
next two weeks.
Right, everybody out.
Don't forget your umbrellas.
There's a typhoon coming.
- Hello.
- Hello. Welcome to Taiwan.
- Nice to meet you.
- Hello. I'm Richard.
My name is Jason.
Nice to meet you, Jaigen.
- Jason. Yeah.
- Jason. I'm sorry.
Jason. It was the accent.
Hello. Nice to meet you.
Right, come on, get
your bags. Chop-chop.
Can someone help
the man, please?
It's not the days of the
Empire. Thank you.
Here comes the typhoon!
Batten down the hatches.
Taiwanese.
Currently below
us in the rankings,
but they're our hosts, so
we should be gracious.
Here's the real competition.
The Chinese.
Guys, check out the board.
Is she messing around with
the Goldbach Conjecture?
Maybe it's what they do for fun.
I love cracking unprovable
theorems in my free time.
No one has proven
that it's unprovable.
Right, come on.
They won't bite.
The enemy!
Surrender or die!
Deng Laoshi.
Dear Richard, welcome.
- Such an honour to have you here.
- Thank you.
- Ni hao.
- Ni hao.
Students, hello.
I hope you are ready
for some mathematics.
Now, pay attention, Team UK.
Deng Laoshi and I have decided to
pair you up with a Chinese buddy
and you should make the
most of this opportunity,
or, more to the point, you should
spy on your Chinese counterpart
and bring their trade
secrets to Blighty.
Very funny, Richard.
Luke Shelton.
Zhang Zhi.
Hello. My name is Zhang Zhi.
Luke.
Nathan Ellis.
Zhang Mei.
Nice to meet you. My
name is Zhang Mei.
Pavinder Kamdar.
This is Shao Tong.
- Nice to meet you.
- Ni hao.
And you know my uncle.
Nathan. The lucky one
learning from my niece?
We have high
expectations for her.
And for you, of course.
High expectations
all round, I say.
Zhang Mei.
Yes, of course, though it may be the
world's fastest developing nation
some of the cuisine doesn't seem
to have advanced quite so quickly.
- Careful. Careful.
- Look at this.
- Thank you. Zhi Zhia... Xie xie.
- Xie xie.
- You put this in there?
- You put the raw food in this.
In the peanut sauce?
- No.
- Okay, okay, I'll do that.
You don't use them... Like that.
Hold it like this and
pinch it like a lobster.
Yeah.
So, Nathan, what was your
score on the mock IMO paper?
Zhang Mei got the full seven
marks on questions one to three.
Though her combinatorics
is her weakest area.
I'm really not... Not that good.
No, but you soon will be.
Nathan, are you okay?
Almost everyone on the
camp speaks English.
It is expected of us.
You speak it very well.
Thank you.
So do you.
Chinese, I mean.
You don't say a lot
in English at all.
This room seems
reasonably symmetrical.
Apart from the window.
I don't know about you,
but I don't appreciate this
forced proximity to each other.
I'll take this side.
I'm going to the bathroom.
You dirty little bastard.
Go on, then.
My God, that is
absolutely disgusting.
Boom! Wanker.
Yeah?
- Yes. Who's this?
- It's...
Nathan? Is that you?
How are you doing?
How's it going out there?
Everything's different and
everyone's cleverer than me.
Look, Nathan, it's your
first night away and...
And first nights away are
always really, really shit.
I mean, it's only
a fortnight, innit?
That's 14 days. And what's 14?
- A positive integer.
- Positive integer.
So think positively.
Which is the square root of?
Whose prime factorisation is?
Two squared by seven squared.
See?
Michael: One, two,
buckle my shoe
Three, four.
Knock on my door.
Five, six, pick up your sticks
Seven, eight, lay them straight
One, two.
Buckle my shoe
Three, four...
Strong squad this year?
Testing my team for
weaknesses, Richard?
You should relax more,
not take it so seriously.
It's all right for you, you got the
best in the world to choose from.
But having your niece
on the team, Deng?
I mean, really?
You'll see.
Luke, I don't care.
Civilizations have used 10, not
l2, digits to count for millennia.
Yes, for purely primitive reasons, and the
fact that we have ten digits on our hands.
My argument is that
if we use base 12
it is an infinitely superior
system, and more logical.
It takes 12 months for
the Earth to orbit the sun,
there are 12 hours a
night and 12 hours a day,
and each of those hours there
are 12 five-minute increments.
And what do you
think, Nathan?
You a member of the
dozenalist society?
I don't know.
Sorry.
People disagreeing with my opinion
is one thing, but no opinion?
You might as well not be here.
The vertices of a
regular 72-gon.
The vertices of a
regular 72-gon
are each coloured red, green
or blue in equal amounts.
Show that we can always choose four
red, four green or four blue vertices
such that each monochromatic set
form a congruent quadrilateral.
Yes, so, of course, the whole question
can be trivialised by Ramsey Theory.
No, sorry, Luke. There were
other hands up before you.
Well, I've already
answered it now.
Really? You think so?
Is anyone here convinced
by Luke's answer?
"It's interesting you ask
"is anyone convinced?"
rather than "is anyone
not convinced?"
- I'm not convinced.
- I'm not convinced.
Nathan, would you
join in, please?
This isn't a holiday.
Do you have a proof to share?
That's a disappointment.
Ben?
Muirhead's inequality
and Schur's inequality?
It's interesting stuff, Nathan, but
you do over-complicate everything.
Things can be much simpler
than they initially appear.
Did Mr. Humphreys
not tell you that?
Mind you, he never did quite
live up to his potential, that one.
It's because his illness
was getting worse.
His Illness?
Is he still using that excuse?
Stephen Hawking has
done all right on far worse.
No, I'm afraid it wasn't Mr.
Humphreys' body that failed him,
it was his character.
He just couldn't stay with it.
If you must wait
Wait for them here in
my arms as I shake
If you must weep...
- Is that strong enough for you?
- That's fine.
- No sugar?
- No sugar, sweet enough for me.
- How are you doing?
- Never better.
You must mourn, my love
Mourn with the moon
and the stars up above
you must mourn
Don't do it alone
So, as well as your
cycle of amitriptyline,
you were prescribed glucocorticosteroids
for your latest relapse.
You can't have got through
all of those already.
I wouldn't have thought.
Someone broke Into my car.
Unfortunate.
- Mention it to the police?
- No, there's no point, is there?
Because they only stole
the pills and some CD's.
Bee Gees' greatest hits.
Which I was gutted about
because I bloody love those
squeaky little bastards.
So to be clear, these are not
anti-depressants, Mr. Humphreys.
I mean, that's good
because I'm not depressed.
You know, maybe you
wanna change your mind
about going to one of
those groups I mentioned?
What, sit in a circle and listen to
how crap everybody else's life is?
- You know, sharing your issues might help.
- Sharing my issues?
Like how I hate wobbling
about like a twat,
how I've started to lose control of my
bladder and it won't be on the floor
before I lose control of my
arse and start to shit myself.
So, be careful, 'cause I
could go at any second.
And then, to top it all off...
My dick doesn't work.
Is that the sort of thing you
think I should be sharing?
Yeah.
Perhaps.
No, but what I really
want, Martin, is for you to
not give up.
I should probably take this
because it's my crack dealer.
- Hello?
- Hello, Martin.
It... It's Julie. Yes.
That's right. Julie Ellis.
- Hi. Hi.
- Hiya.
- Thanks for coming round. It's...
- It's all right.
- Yeah.
- You sure you're ready for this?
Absolutely.
Okay, then. Let's begin at
the beginning, shall we?
It's all right. It's like
anything. It's scary at first.
But then when you get your
head round it, you'll be all right.
Has he, um...
Has he rung you again?
- Nathan? No.
- Yeah.
Now, look, I'm sure he didn't
mean anything by it, calling me.
It's just he doesn't think
sometimes, does he?
Well, no, he does think a lot.
Just mainly about maths.
Which is fine, you know.
He just thinks I'm a bit of an idiot
because I failed at maths at school.
I mean, I got everything
else, it was just, you know...
It's why I wanna do this really,
you know, get into his head more.
- I'm not making sense. Shut up, Julie.
- No, you're making perfect sense.
- Not really.
- No, you are.
I mean, the thing about
maths, as with any subject,
I think if you have an inspirational
teacher, um, then you'll be away.
Which is where I come in.
Mr. Inspirational.
Okay, then.
Let's start with something...
- Yeah. Pythagoras. Yay.
- Okay.
- Can you say that word?
- Hypotenuse.
Bless you.
You all right? You got
a little bit of a cold?
It's time to step up, mofo,
and see what you can do.
Keep your Pythag theorem to yourself
I raise you B minus C plus F equals 2.
- Who's next? Who's next?
- Your turn, Luke.
Go, Luke.
Go, Luke. Go, Luke.
Thank you, but I really
don't see the point.
Apart from succumbing to
testosterone-fuelled irrationality.
It's because it's funny, Luke.
- Don't you have a sense of humour?
- Just ignore him.
He's here to bring the mood
down as always, so don't let him.
- I'm here to do maths.
- You're just a regular quadrilateral.
- Okay, take it, Ben.
- UK, make some noise!
'Cause I'm talking
pi, bro, I'm talking...
1141592653553...
9793238462643...
- Sorry.
- Um...
No, It's all right.
I was just practicing
my fingering.
Um...
Go on, laugh.
No? Okay.
Um, do you play?
- No.
- Come on.
So...
Beautiful sounds are
about frequency ratios.
The simpler the ratio, like this C
and this C, a simple ratio of 1:2.
Beautiful.
Complex harmonies, like this...
Ugly.
Do you want to try?
Okay.
Is that right?
Yeah, it was, um...
- So you've never played before?
- No.
All music is maths, really.
Come on, I'll teach
you the next bit.
- Is this all right?
- Christ, yeah.
- Do you want me to pour it out?
- Please.
It's nice to relax actually.
It's been a while.
- There you go.
- Thank you.
Well, it's good that you
find maths relaxing.
Must have been
very difficult for you,
being just you and Nathan.
You know, without...
- Michael.
- Michael.
- Sorry. Dickhead.
- No.
- Me, not... Not Michael.
- I know.
Well, I mean, but you're...
You're the same.
It must be the...
I mean, you're not with anyone.
- No. No.
- Are you? No.
My passion's my work, you see.
Sorry.
- You all right?
- Yeah.
Sometimes I wonder if Nathan
will ever find anyone, you know?
Nathan's nothing like me.
If you're worried that Nathan's
gonna end up like... You shouldn't.
- I wasn't. It would be a good thing.
- You shouldn't.
- I might just pop off to the toilet.
- Okay.
I got crisps.
- Sorry.
- It's all right.
- Sorry, are you a bit stiff?
- No, what?
I mean, your back.
- Shit. I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?
- It's okay. Are you all right?
No. It's okay.
- You all right?
- Sorry. Sorry about that.
- It's okay.
- I, um
I just want to say that, um...
- You don't...
- For me... No, I do.
In this sort of situation there's only
so far that I am able to, um, go.
And I don't want to
make you disappointed.
You... You couldn't.
I wouldn't... Sorry.
Yeah, I understand.
Do you mind if we get up? I
think I'm sat on a set square.
I think it's funny that your
favourite English food is Chinese.
Do you always like to have
everything the same?
Because I change my
favourite things all the time.
I don't usually like change.
- I like it here, though.
- Do you?
I mean, the Chinese
approach to maths.
Yes?
Look.
This is called The Nine
Chapters of Mathematical Art.
This took more than
1,000 years to write.
In China, mathematics
is more than numbers.
Um, It is like art.
Here.
There are... There are
eight prawn balls. I...
It needs to be a prime.
So... 20 random cards are
placed in a row all face-down.
A move consists of turning
a face-down card face-up
and turning over the card
immediately to the right.
Show that no matter what
the choice of cards to turn
this sequence of
moves must terminate.
Nathan, hiding in the
back won't help you.
Would you like to
come up and show us?
Go on, Nathan.
Okay, so we need to... We need to
look at the cards not as cards, but as...
As numbers.
We can call face-down cards...
One.
Face-up cards... Zero.
And initially it would be a sequence of
ones as the cards are all face down.
But after a while it would
look something like that.
And, as we can see,
that is a binary number.
And a move that consists of
turning a face-down card face up
and the card immediately
to the right of it
could be that a one
followed by a one,
will turn into a zero
followed by a zero.
That would be like that. Or it
could be a one followed by a zero
turning into a zero
followed by a one.
In either case, we can see that the
number in binary is strictly decreasing.
And that means?
Which means that the
sequence must terminate.
Because?
Because you can't keep taking
away from a positive integer
- without it turning negative.
- No, you can't.
You definitely
can't. Good work;.
Everyone. Good work.
Hello. My name's Martin
Humphreys and I'm an alcoholic.
No, not really. Well, a little bit.
Um, I've got MS, that's why I'm
here. I got that group tomorrow.
No, seriously, thank you for
everybody who's, shared and stuff.
Because there's definitely
things that I can identify with
and that I definitely recognise;.
So, there's this person
I like, but I know
how bad I'm gonna get
and it's very difficult to imagine
any sort of a rosy future
or anyone wanting to be a
part of that future with me.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Um...
Because you...
This is ridiculous.
Because in a few years' time I might not...
I might not even be able to hold hands
or have a little cuddle.
And...
That really, really scares me.
We should ask the others to suggest
a variety of trigonometric identities
to simplify the expressions, which
could include, say, coversine
or possibly covercosine or
versine or excosecant and so on.
Luke, we're trying to think of
fun questions for each other,
we're not trying to prove how many
trigonometric identities we know.
Well, then I really don't see the point.
We are competing with each other.
You can pretend you're everyone's
best friend all you like, Isaac,
but I'm here to
get on the team.
Sorry, when have I ever tried
to be your best friend, Luke?
Nathan, this is a democracy,
yours is the casting vote.
Yes. Democracy in the true Chinese
sense of the word. Forget it.
- We'll just do your question...
- Are you gonna sulk?
Boo-hoo-hoo, poor Luke.
Sorry.
- I've come across people like him before.
- Definitely autistic.
He seems to have picked up all the
bad traits and none of the good.
- What bad traits?
- Obsessive.
- Socially incompetent.
- That sort of thing.
It's about adaptability, Nathan.
Sometimes we have to change
our shape so that we fit in.
That was you pushing the cage.
- I did not!
- Yes, you did! Polly!
Polly Parrot, wake up!
Polly!
Now that's what I
call a dead parrot.
I love this. It's stinky tofu.
Stinky?
That's horrible.
It stinks but it tastes
really, really good.
Look.
I used to play this when I was
small, in my hometown, as a child.
A sweet.
- It's sticky.
- It's stuck in my teeth.
You have a funny face.
You don't like it? I'll eat
it. And you can have this'.
We should... We
should probably go.
Aren't you...
Aren't you worried
about the exam?
Well, it is good to have a
break. Clear your mind.
Don't worry. We will both get into the
Olympiad in Cambridge. The IMO.
And I will meet your family
when I come and stay with you.
My cultural exchange.
Look at this.
You're a bit like a
turtle, aren't you?
In your shell.
Come on.
In China, do boys
like me get bullied?
"Bullied"?
You know, like when people treat
you badly because you're clever.
Why would they do that?
I wish England was
more like China.
I wish China was
more like here.
In China we have to
succeed for the family.
Especially for Uncle Deng.
Some people say that I am
only here because of him.
That's not true. No,
you're really clever.
Thank you.
And you're very nice.
Prawn ball. Turtle boy.
Alternate team seating.
UK team member,
Chinese team member.
Alternative seating. UK team
member, Chinese team member.
IMO conditions apply.
White card if you
request some paper.
A blue for water.
Green if you need
to go to the toilet.
Yellow to ask a question but
only in the first half-hour.
And red if you've left the gas on at home
or something and you need to leave.
The six of you who score highest will
represent Team UK, no "ifs", no "buts".
You may begin.
"Each integer is coloured
either red, yellow or green."
"Show that there
always exist A, B, C,"
"such that A, B, C."
"A plus B, A plus C..."
"A plus B, A plus C, B plus
C and A plus B plus C"
"are all the same colour."
Right! No point in
dilly-dallying, I suppose.
I'll pin your scores up on
the board in a second.
The five outstanding students
guaranteed a place at the IMO
in Cambridge this year are...
Isaac.
Lee Jing.
Rebecca.
Pav. And Ben.
The last place was very tight
between Nathan and Luke.
Both scores somewhat disappointing, but
one of you will have to go to Cambridge.
So, by the smallest
fraction of a point,
the last place on
the team goes to...
Nathan.
The six of you will be hosting the
Chinese team at your own homes
and I'll see you all in
Cambridge next week.
Onward, Christian soldiers.
A real Taiwanese last supper!
"As the old proverb say,
Slowly, slowly, catchy prawn."
Now, you put your bait on the hooks
and you put your hooks in the water.
Don't worry, Nathan. I only
just made the team myself.
We should be celebrating!
Okay.
He's so strange.
At least we don't have
to see him again.
What a dick.
What do I do?
Yes!
I'm sorry.
- How's it going?
- Good.
- These two are tender?
- Not yet.
Not yet. I have this all under control,
thank you very much. It's fine.
Okay, okay. You're the expert.
I think these ones...
Can I get a plate?
Smells good.
Have you seen this? Now that's
what I call a dead prawn.
This prawn is
definitely deceased.
When I bought it half-hour
ago, you assured me
that its lack of movement was due
to it being tired and shagged out.
My God.
"Say, No, no, it's resting."
- What?
- Say, "No, no, it's resting."
No, no, it's resting.
All right, then. Well, if it's
resting, I'll wake it up.
Hello, Prawny.
Prawny, wake up!
This prawn wouldn't wake up
if I put 4,000 volts through it.
It's bleedin' demised.
It has ceased to be.
It's expired and gone
to meet its maker.
This is an ex-prawn!
Seriously, Luke, what are you?
Well, what are you, Isaac?
I find everything so easy
and I have everything.
"And I'm gonna go out of my way to
make sure that you're not happy at all.."
Remarkable bird, the Norwegian
Blue. Beautiful plumage.
The plumage don't enter into it.
It's stone-dead.
No, no, no. It's resting.
All Right, then. If it's
resting, I'll wake it up.
Hello, Polly! I got a nice Cuttlefish for
you when you wake up, Polly Parrot!
- There, it moved.
- No, it didn't.
Nathan.
Nathan...
It's fine.
I've done it before.
Just got a bit carried
away this time.
How did your mum and
dad explain it to you?
When they found out.
I presume you've
been diagnosed.
Mine said it made me unique.
"No one wants to be
ordinary," they said.
It's all right being weird
as long as you're gifted.
But if you're not gifted, then...
That just leaves weird.
Doesn't it?
You are gifted, Luke.
I don't even enjoy it.
Maths.
Isn't that stupid?
What's the point?
Right, away you go.
Your chariot awaits.
Nathan, can I have a word?
When I speak to people of
a non-mathematical nature,
they always struggle with the notion
that mathematics can be beautiful.
But if beauty is truth
and truth is beauty,
well, then surely mathematics is
the most beautiful thing of all.
No?
There is rare beauty
in your work, Nathan.
But you are unpredictable and
inconsistent. Which worries me.
You need to focus if
you're gonna win a medal.
And don't be distracted
by your Chinese guest.
Cai Hong!
- The rainbow.
- Yeah, rainbow, cai Hong.
- Cai hpng.
- Yeah.
- Cai Hong.
- Cai Hong.
So beautiful.
- Welcome home. Hi, darling.
- Hey!
- Hi, darling... Hi!
- Welcome back.
Hi! Hello, sweetheart.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- How do you pronounce your name?
- Zhang Mei.
- Zhang Mei. Julie. Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
We put a little... Wait,
it's coming round now.
Cambridge, here we come!
Whoo-whom whoo-whoo!
Why did you get
my train set out?
Um... Nathan...
Sorry.
- Welcome to England.
- Thank you.
Nathan.
Nathan, I'm sorry. I'm
sorry about the train.
So that's Zhang Mei, is it?
What's she like?
She's... She's clever.
And she's nice, too.
Sounds to me like
you quite like her.
Of course I like her.
Yeah, no, I mean, like: More
than you normally like things.
You know, like more than...
Ice cream. Or...
Or maths.
I don't like anything
more than I like maths.
Nathan, darling, I wish
you'd just called me.
Let me know that
you're okay, you know?
Why?
Well, because, darling...
I like you...
More than I like ice cream.
I said she could have my room.
That's very gentlemanly of you.
Isn't that the right thing to do?
Yes.
So, I'm I'm blowing this
up for you then, am I?
Yeah. But, can I
have it in my room?
Zhang Mei's in there.
We might want to study.
So, that man today,
he is not your father?
No, he's my teacher.
My father died.
I'm sorry, Nathan.
It's not your fault.
I mean, I feel sad for you.
It must be hard to lose someone
that you love so much.
You think it will work?
100%? I hope so.
We did it! It actually works.
Right-observers. It's
time to assemble.
Panama hats, Richard? Really?
Yes, it was a
consensus decision.
I discussed it with myself and I
decided it would be a good idea.
Are you sure you're not
too rusty for all this?
I can manage a bit
of shepherding.
Been Nathan's teacher for seven
years, I wanna see this through.
He's a very sensitive kid.
Yeah, yeah, I suppose
children are like animals.
You get attached to
them after a while.
My gosh! Is this
where you're staying?
Wow.
Well...
So, um, you've got your phone on you
and you know you can call me any time.
So...
I'll be thinking of you.
Okay. Well, goodbye.
- Goodbye.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Bye, darling.
- What are you doing?
- I was taking your hand.
Come on!
You let go!
Isaac Newton. G.H. Hardy.
Ramanujan. Bertrand Russell.
They all began their
mathematical journeys here.
Trinity alumni have accumulated
thirty two Nobel prizes
and no less than
four Fields Medals.
Although Russell did go off the
rails somewhat later in his career.
But nevertheless, this is
the most prestigious place
to study mathematics on the
planet. And you are here.
Because they are the past
and you are the future.
So don't let me down.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to welcome you!
To the 59th International.
Mathematical Olympiad
in Cambridge.
Please welcome Australia.
A warm welcome
for Bangladesh.
Canada.
The People's Republic of China.
A round of applause
for United Kingdom.
- Nathan?
- Yeah?
I can't sleep.
You can, stay here if you
want. Like... Like at home.
What are you reading?
It's the Ten Years of
Mathematical Challenges,
'97 to '06 edition.
I'm sorry.
Is that right?
Yes.
Are you okay?
I am glad I am here with you.
Me, too.
I can't be here with people
thinking I don't deserve it.
Why don't you just stay until
the end of the competition?
No, Nathan!
Nathan...
Just because...
Just because I'm going, it...
It does not mean that...
I don't find myself liking you.
Excuse me. Sorry.
Nathan? Um...
Did you get into trouble?
About Zhang Mei?
I think I might
have accidentally
sort of mentioned
something to someone.
I didn't mean to hurt
anyone. It's just...
Anyway...
I'm sorry.
- Oi!
- Oggy!
- Oi!
- Oggy, Oggy, Oggy!
Oi, Oi, Oi!
Hello, Nathan.
I know, I know, I know. I know you
said not to bother you, but I just, um...
Well, I just wanted to... I wanted
to cheer on Team Nathan.
Go, Nathan!
Anyway, um, I'll be
waiting outside and...
Best of luck, darling.
There's no such thing as luck.
No.
Nathan.
I'm gonna be circling, so I'll try and
slip you some of the answers, all right?
That's cheating.
You know I was joking.
You're gonna be all right.
Four hours and 30
minutes. You may begin.
"4n squared trains are
arranged in a 2n x 2n square"
"and each is painted with
one of four colours."
"Every 2 x 2 square of trains
involves each of the four colours."
"Every 2 x 2 square of trains..."
"Every 2 x 2 square of trains
involves each of the four colours."
"Prove that the trains..."
"Prove that the trains on the
corners of the 2n x 2n square"
"are painted with
different colours."
It must be hard to lose someone
that you love so much.
What's the matter, mate?
Nathan?
Nathan!
Nathan!
Open the door.
Martin, open the door!
Open the door, Martin. Martin!
Martin!
Nathan?
Nathan!
- Where's he going?
- I don't know.
He just wanted to go, Julie.
I could see it in his eyes.
And I'm sorry, I didn't
wanna stop him. I'm sorry.
It's okay.
Nathan?
Nathan?
Zhang Mei said
that she liked me.
Right.
That's a...
That's a good thing, isn't it?
And do you... Do you
think that you might
have those kind
of feelings, too?
I don't know.
I've been trying to
work it out. But...
I found a formula. I
just can't understand it.
Well, as far as I know,
Nathan, no one ever has.
I know that when...
When I'm around her,
my brain works differently.
And my body feels strange and I don't
know what it means or why it matters.
Why it matters?
It matters because...
Well, when...
When somebody loves you,
it means that they see
something in you...
That they think is worth
something. So it sort of...
It adds value to you.
But it can be hard...
You know, when you
love someone and they...
They show no sign that they
love you back, then it's
Then it's unequal. Or, um...
When... When
someone you love...
Is subtracted from you...
Then it feels like, you know, that
your value is less than it was.
Does that make sense?
Why did he have to go?
I don't know.
- It just doesn't make sense.
- I know.
It never will. It
was an accident.
Things made sense
when I was with him.
But why? Why...
What did he do that I don't?
How did he make sense
of things for you?
Nathan?
I don't know, he
made me laugh and...
He stuck chips up his nose.
What?
He stuck chips up his nose?
Okay, well, I'll stick
a chip up my nose.
Talk to me now?
Nathan?
Nathan.
Nathan, it's all right. It's okay.
It hurts.
I know, darling. Me, too.
Come here.
It's all right.
It's all right, it's all right,
good boy. It's okay.
Hey, hey.
Where is Zhang Mei now?
She... She's gone to the station.
Do you wanna fetch her back?
Yeah.
Okay, we'd better be quick.
What?
Nothing.
Miss you terribly already Miss
the space between your eyelids.
Where I'd stare through
awkward sentences
And avoid through awkward silence
Miss your teeth when they chatter
when we smoked out in my garden.
When we couldn't sleep
for all the heat.
Soft talk began to harden
Miss your small hands
in the palm of mine
The fact they're good at making
Miss your sitting up incessantly
And the fact you're always
waking in the night.
The night
And I
I hope for your life
You forget about mine
Forget about mine
Miss your teeth dug
in my shoulder
As we rolled in early mornings
Miss your arm dying beneath me.
As I lay there, simply yawning
Please forget me
You were right, dear
I am cold and self-involved
And though I'll miss
you, recent lover
I am weak and therefore cold
Get distracted by my music
Think of nothing else but art
I'll write my loneliness in poems
If I can just think how to start
Dot my I's with eyebrow pencils
Close my eyelids, hide my eyes
I'll be idle in my ideals
Think of nothing else but!
And I
And I
And I
I hope for your life.
You can forget about mine
Just forget about mine
And mine
Mine