Theme:
Insanity
Quote:
SOL
Listen to me. The Ancient
Japanese considered the Go
board to be a microcosm of
the universe. Although when
it is empty it appears to be
simple and ordered, in fact,
the possibilities of game play
are endless. They say that no
two Go games have ever been
alike. Just like snowflakes.
So, the Go board actually
represents an extremely complex
and chaotic universe. That is
the truth of our world, Max.
It can't be easily summed up
with math. There is no simple
pattern.
MAX
But as a Go game
progresses, the possibilities
become smaller and smaller.
The board does take on order.
Soon, all moves are
predictable.
SOL
So?
MAX
So, maybe, even though we're not
sophisticated enough to be aware
of it, there is an underlying
order...a pattern, beneath every
Go game. Maybe that pattern is
like the pattern in the market,
in the Torah. The two sixteen
number.
SOL
That is insanity, Max.
MAX
Or maybe it's genius. I
have to get that number.
SOL
Hold on, you have to slow
down. You're losing it, you
have to take a breath. Listen
to yourself. You're connecting
a computer bug I had, a
computer bug you might have
had, and some religious
hogwash. If you want to find
the number two sixteen in the
world, you'll be able to pull
it out of anywhere. Two
hundred and sixteen steps
from your street comer to
your front door. Two hundred
and sixteen seconds you spend
riding on the elevator. When
your mind becomes obsessed
with anything, it will filter
everything else out and find
examples of that thing
everywhere. Three hundred and
twenty, four hundred and
fifty, twenty-three.
Whatever! You've chosen two
sixteen and you'll find it
everywhere in nature. But
Max, as soon as you discard
scientific rigor, you are no
longer a mathematician. You
become a numerologist. What
you need to do is take a
break from your research. You
need it. You deserve it
Here's a hundred dollars, I
want you to take it. If ,you
won't take it, borrow it.
Either way, take a break.
Spend it however you like as
long as it falls in the
category of vacation. Real
world stuff, okay. No math.
Max looks at his bands.
SOL
Just try it. In a week
you'll laugh about this.
C'mon, Max. Think about it!
Max gives a half nod.
~Sean Gullette as Max Cohen
Mark Margolis as Sol Robeson
Pi (1998) - Darren Aronofsky
