Science documentaries
The World's First Computer
It’s called the Antikythera Mechanism. A mysterious lump of calcified stone containing various gearwheels discovered in an ancient shipwreck. It’s thought to be one of the earliest-ever computers, used to predict solar eclipses and calculate the timing of the ancient Olympics.
Now scientists are revealing more surprising and awe-inspiring details of an object that continues to mystify.
The Story Of Maths
From algorithms to economics, it’s impossible to think of a part of our world that isn’t determined by math. It’s the invisible glue that holds our world and its systems together. But what’s the human history behind the numbers?
From Plato to Pythagoras, Descartes to Newton, Fermat to Poincare, these are the great minds who have brought pattern and order to our chaotic world.
The Flu That Killed 50 Million
A terrifying virus. The world in panic. Scientists battling for a cure. Sounds like 2020 – but it’s 1918. This one-off special brings to life the onslaught of the Spanish flu that would kill three times more people than the Great War that preceded it.
What lessons does this horrifying pandemic teach us? And could the deadly spread of coronavirus have been avoided if we had heeded them?
The Joy of AI
Machines can now simulate, improve and even outperform the human mind. AI is not only changing the world but also challenging our idea of intelligence. Stephen Hawking once said that AI could be the biggest event in human history, but might also be the worst.
Jim Al-Khalili looks at the history, and future, of AI and argues that this new tool will enhance our lives, and (hopefully) not destroy us.
This show is not currently available on BBC Select but browse through the previous titles for more Science documentaries available to stream on BBC Select.
The Joy Of Logic
Philosophy, math, science, technology – all of it runs on logic.
Journeying from art to literature, sci-fi to supercomputers, Professor Dave Cliff tells the fascinating story of the quest for certainty in this gleefully nerdish BBC documentary. But could today’s super-powered computers be smarter than us? What does that tell us about our own brains and how ‘logical’ we really are?
This show is not currently available on BBC Select but browse through the previous titles for more Science documentaries available to stream on BBC Select.