A MathCrunch Review of the Best Brain-Stretching Netflix Titles
Netflix has officially taken over every waking moment of my free time. At this point, paying the monthly fee for cable television (except for during the month of March) seems as unnecessary as paying for a water cup at Chipotle.
Whether you’re a teacher looking for a school-friendly film to throw on the projector on a slow day or a student looking for something more intellectually stimulating than Trailer Park Boys, we’ve got you covered with titles that will either teach you something or inspire you to learn!
All you have to do now is find a friend, significant other, or a box of cookies and Netflix the night away.
On The Way To School
This award-winning documentary puts our Western perspective of education at odds with the realities of four children around the world. The daily journey they must make to get to their schools makes our frigid walk to the bus stop in the morning seem like a piece of cake. The film is beautifully shot, with poetic narration in the Turkish language.
Good Will Hunting
Before Matt Damon went to space to do movies and never came back, he was a young, loudmouthed math genius from Southie. Watch him solve Harvard-level math proofs like you write your first name.
This is a classic story of how it takes compassion and time to unlock our true intellectual and emotional capacity. There is romance, Robin Williams and *warning* plenty of cursing. Pull this one out if you’re looking for an unexpected tearjerker and priceless Bahhston accent monologues on why you should never join the National Security Agency.
Brain Games
The NatGeo series explores the human cognitive process and how to manipulate it. The charismatic host teaches you how to play his brain-bending games (dealing with visual perception and knee-jerk reactions), making this a great interactive tool for the classroom. Engaging, dramatic and sometimes deceptive, this is not your average “busy work” video.
The Science of Doctor Who
Renowned physicist Brian Cox leads us through a series of lectures on the concept of time: black holes, time travelling and even the feasibility of alien life. He even nerds out with celebrity guests, making the series a captivating way to pass a few hours.
Cosmos: Season 1, Ep. 4
“A Sky Full Of Ghosts”
If you don’t know Neil Degrasse Tyson by now, you may be living under an asteroid-sized rock. This astronomer-turned-Internet meme-sensation has the innate ability to blow your mind with his concepts of space and time. Tyson is sort of a new-generation Bill Nye in that he too can hold bring us to outer space without losing our attention to our smart phones.
Whether you’re a teacher incorporating the series into your lesson plan or a student/parent watching at home, this episode is particularly interesting in its application of Newton and Einsteins’ contributions to our understanding of the nature of stars and the universe at large. You may never be the same again.
