How Numb3rs Taught Me to Love Math and Friday Night TV

Summary: The math-themed TV series Numb3rs teaches viewers to appreciate math, family relationships and Friday night TV.

the Eppes brothers, FBI special agent Don (Rob Morrow) and math genius Charlie (David Krumholtz) in CBS crime drama television series NUMB3RS: NUMB3RS @NUMB3RS, via Facebook April 7, 2010

An appreciation of individualism, the importance of awareness, the need for level-headedness, the role of patience and the value of teamwork are five lessons that I learned from my favorite Friday night TV show, Numb3rs. Series do not tend to get my attention since I cannot count on seeing enough shows to appreciate what gets done by whom when, where and why. But the publicity was compelling and the title intriguing.

The show ultimately boils down to the caring interactions between, and differing interests of, brothers Charlie (David Krumholtz) and Don (Rob Morrow) and their father Alan (Judd Hirsch). Don has personality, Charlie super-intelligence and Alan understanding. There is such respect for individuality that what divides a family without such a commitment strengthens and unites the three Eppes. The series therefore made me appreciate the different qualities that make everyone in my close circle of family and friends special, unique and worthy of respect.

Scary films are not something that I relish. Crime drama can be considered scary because of the violent skirmishes that produce victims and the near hit-and-misses that characterize non-victims. Numb3rs therefore made me aware of self-protection by closing windows in unpopulated rooms and locking cars and doors before dark.

Don can be emotional on the job as one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's agents. In solving cases, he looks to his brother for logic and math and his father for the levelheaded perspective of age and experience. Don's passion and Alan's and Charlie's restraint made me coordinate the ups and downs of my heart with the rationality of my brain. It made me look for patterns and non-patterns.

Mathematics demands precision. Its preciseness instills patience in its adherents and admirers. It is as difficult for the young to inherit the mistakes of the past as it is for the old to live with the 20/20 knowledge of hindsight. Charlie's enthusiasm for and facility with numbers therefore made me tolerant of how long it takes to get things done both timely and well.

But the ultimate takeaway for me from Numb3rs is the camaraderie and communicativeness of true teamwork. The show therefore made me realize that Friday evenings do not have to be spent on the town. Fridays instead were spent with family and friends who rotated houses and worked together to prepare and share meals before, and conversations and clean-up after, each week's show.

Gray Residence ("Numb3rs" House), 2515 4th Avenue, West Adams District, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Southern California; Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, 12:03:04: Raul (savemejebus), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

the Eppes brothers, FBI special agent Don (Rob Morrow) and math genius Charlie (David Krumholtz) in CBS crime drama television series NUMB3RS: NUMB3RS @NUMB3RS, via Facebook April 7, 2010, @ https://www.facebook.com/NUMB3RS/photos/a.476369862904/419884617904/

Gray Residence ("Numb3rs" House), 2515 4th Avenue, West Adams District, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Southern California; Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, 12:03:04: Raul (savemejebus), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/47266767@N00/4127844748/

For further information:

Devlin, Keith J. The Numbers Behind Numb3rs: Solving Crime With Mathematics. New York NY: Plume, 2007.

NUMB3RS @NUMB3RS. "Updated their profile picture." Facebook. April 7, 2010.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/NUMB3RS/photos/a.476369862904/419884617904/

Numb3rs: The Complete Series. Hollywood CA: Paramount, 2010.