Charlie Eppes
Encyclopedia
Charles Edward "Charlie" Eppes, PhD (played by David Krumholtz
) is a fictional character
and protagonist
in the CBS
crime drama Numb3rs
.
Dr. Charles Edward Eppes is portrayed as a young mathematical
genius
and professor
of applied mathematics
at the fictional California Institute of Science, CalSci (primarily based on Caltech, where some filming and mathematics consulting is done). As a world-class mathematician
, Charlie helps his brother Don Eppes
solve many of his perplexing FBI cases, sometimes with the help of his best friend, mentor and colleague Larry Fleinhardt
and his on-again off-again girlfriend, former student and now wife, Amita Ramanujan
, who further refines Charlie's approach and helps him stay focused. Charlie has consulted for the National Security Agency
(NSA), in part as a cryptanalyst
, for nearly five years, having attained TS/SCI security clearance. It was revoked at the end of season four after he transmitted information to Pakistan, but has recently been re-instated.
, he could multiply four-digit numbers mentally at age three and at the age of four required special teachers. In the second grade, he attempted to find a 70-digit narcissistic number
in base 12
— Eppes has described himself as "quixotic
" in elementary school. A prodigy
, he attended Princeton University
at the age of 13 after graduating from high school at the same time as his brother who is five years his senior ("Soft Target"), and took Professor Lawrence Fleinhardt's quantum physics course in his first year. They became fast friends, with Fleinhardt establishing his academic connections. Eppes published his first mathematical treatise
at the age of 14 (in the American Journal of Mathematics
) and graduated at the age of 16. In fact, he was the youngest person to ever write a paper of importance.
It was his paper on the Eppes convergence
, which concerned asymptotics
of Hermitian
random matrices
, that made him a star in his field. Following a seminar that heavily criticized this seminal piece many years after its initial publication, Charlie realized that his work with the FBI has prevented him from doing research
significant to other mathematicians and now hopes to spend decades on cognitive
emergence theory
("the mathematics of the brain") to rectify this certain inequity, which has delighted Fleinhardt. Although he was a child prodigy, Charlie now laments the fact that his best years in his research will never come ahead of schedule again.
Eppes is a multiple Ph.D.
("Decoy Effect"), a recipient of the Milton Prize and a nominee for the Fields Medal
. Following his five-year research on random matrices
, Charlie worked on sequence
s with orthogonal
symmetry
. He has also provided insights for possibly solving the P vs. NP problem and published works on H-infinity Control of Non-Linear Systems
and computational fluid dynamics
, while his current research is in cognitive
emergence theory
. He has presented seminars on harmonic analysis
and the zeros of random
orthogonal polynomials
and given lectures on group theory
and Kac–Moody algebra
s. Eppes has taught courses on calculus
, chaos theory
, fluid dynamics
, game theory
and probability
at CalSci in addition to giving guest lecture
s on applied probability
. The lecture in which he converted the classroom into a miniature casino
for analyzing probabilities is considered an "Eppes Classic". Also, Eppes has taken over Fleinhardt's computational physics
class when he was asked to do so, and has given a joint lecture on circular motion
and the Coriolis effect
with Fleinhardt. Professor Otto Bahnoff took over Eppes' mathematical physics
grad seminar on the day he got married.
with an ego problem" and a student once described him as fast-talking and disorganized, to the agreement of Larry. Fleinhardt also accurately noticed that his colleague has a high standard of guilt and is a pragmatist
. Charlie is rather fond of providing excessive explanations (e.g., his discussion of Occam's razor
) and reducing complex phenomena to intuitively obvious situations through practical analogies that are quite unlike Larry's metaphysical musings and cosmic metaphors. (These analogies are known as "audience visions" or, as friend Megan Reeves calls them, "those cute little analogies.") While contemplating, his antics and mannerisms may even disconcert more conventional thinkers. Wearing his headset, Dr. Eppes has an intense focusing ability as he voraciously writes equation
s, often covering several chalkboards
with a staccato clacking and the aid of a red chalk holder. Nevertheless, if his line of thought is interrupted during a tense moment, as one of restricted foresight, he can become very disgruntled. Further, when deeply concentrating on a particular problem, it seems Charlie is unable to provide insights to other topics for the sake that they are simply needed or wanted—he has to write what is in his head. Like his brother Don, he is characteristically stubborn and obsessive ("one part exuberance, two parts obsession"), especially when it comes to work, but he's rather naïve when it comes to human behavior. The latter often interferes with his FBI work and, thus, is the cause of much distress for him at times.
He is extremely talented in chess
, as it requires both his father and brother to play against him and a distraction to defeat him. Charlie also has a vast understanding of theoretical physics
, often assisting Larry with his multi-dimensional supergravity theory
and papers on gravity waves
, and biology
, extending to knowledge of ciliate
protozoa
and the spread of infectious diseases. While brilliant in some areas, he is lacking in others. Dr. Fleinhardt has stated that it is a good thing he went into applied mathematics as opposed to engineering
, as machines malfunction in his presence, though he was able to take apart and rebuild his father's cell phone to analyze its GPS tranceiver. He is apparently a bad speller (e.g., he misspells "anomaly" and "conceited") and does not know the meaning of "defenestration
" (for which Larry chastises him stating that the idealization is to be a Renaissance man
and that even math and physics majors had to have a course on English). Thus, his father likes playing Scrabble
with him.
Charlie is a rationalist. He is skeptical of UFOs, psychic ability, and gematria—all considered to be pseudosciences. He also does not like illusions. He, however, is also fairly open-minded in terms of faith and religion.
, specifically P vs NP; it's a point of contention between the brothers. Also, Charlie doesn't think Don understood what he went through during their school years, especially how he was treated as "Don's brainiac little brother" by his peers in high school, and how he often left him to his own resources as a child, though he was not as inept as Don had reasoned. However, Charlie's relationship with Don remains strong, as he has begun to increasingly fear for his brother's safety on the job and still looks to his older brother for acceptance. Charlie and his father worry about Don committing to relationships, and for a time, fear that he had been cheating on Robin Brooks. Ironically, Charlie has similar problems with women himself. After a couple dozen murder cases, Charlie is somewhat jaded and world-weary like his brother. FBI agent David Sinclair
of Don's team even comments that he has never seen two brothers so similar and yet so different. In "The Janus List", the brothers seem to take on each other's tendencies a bit. Though, in season five, Charlie is dismayed that Don does not reveal to him his newfound religious faith.
In "Prime Suspect," Charlie purchases the beautiful Craftsman
family home from his father, who continues to live with him. Now 30 years old, Charlie wants to be responsible and take care of his father but still believes that much of the pressures involving their dad has been put on his shoulders as Don doesn't seem to have enough time. Realizing this, Alan sets his sights on moving out to accomplish things on his own, with Charlie seemingly supporting the idea, but has since chosen to stay as he favors his son's company. Recently, Charlie is bothered by his father trying to impose his will on him with maintaining the house, as he is a full tenure
d professor at one of the most prestigious institutions in the country working on "life-altering" mathematics, i.e., in solving crimes. Alan just wants him to be responsible and not end up like Larry, though Mr. Eppes respects Fleinhardt. Even he has thought of this possibility and decides to do more around the home. After Charlie compares his own situation to that of Einstein
his father looks into information on the physicist
and understands his son's predicament. Charlie also feels guilty about the amount of time his parents, particularly his mother, who always was attuned to his way of thinking, spent with him as a child; he even asks his mother (JoBeth Williams
) in a dream if she regrets the time away from Don and Alan because of the special attention he needed growing up.
Charlie's research often interferes with his relationships: as with Amita on their first date, for all they could talk about is mathematics; Fleinhardt says that it is a common interest and they should not struggle to avoid the subject. Charlie and Amita had several false starts. Charlie has also spent some time with his ex-girlfriend, Susan Berry (Sonya Walger
), an attractive neuroscientist
from London. He had lived with Susan for two years, and Larry described this as his very own Berry's phase
. However, she later reveals that she is currently involved with someone else and has to return to England
. Charlie attempts to start a relationship with Amita once more, though her job offer at Harvard University
strains this possibility and makes him distraught for some time. Eventually, she decides to take the alternative offer at CalSci with the hope to begin a romantic relationship with him, though his fear of possible failure causes him to question whether he wants this second chance; Don cautions him about such an attitude. Amita notices his ambivalence and isn't certain if she wants to back out of the relationship, but he then pushes it forward. Pressures from their colleagues over the inappropriateness of the relationship nearly cost them, but by the middle of the third season their romantic involvement stabilizes and they have grown considerably closer. He feels rejected when Amita does not want him to meet her father, due to his expectations about the men she dates. Initially, he wonders if it is based on him being Jewish, but the problem is that he is not India
n-born. Alan explains that Mr. Ramanujan would like him after meeting him. Charlie and Amita state that they love each other, and have even decided to move in together, though, the actual living arrangement has not been determined. When Amita's parents finally meet him, they are rude, but warm to him later. Alan says that Charlie will have to marry her.
Unforeseen complications with his work emerge as the new Chair
of the CalSci Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy Division, Dr. Mildred Finch, in the episode "Waste Not", makes Charlie head of the Ph.D.
admissions committee against his wishes, bogging him down with more work, and gives him pressures about using the school's supercomputer
for FBI work or missing classes for such. This leads to Charlie being confrontational, but she calms him when she says she just wants him to be "the Sean Connery
of the mathematics department
." In the episode "Take Out", Charlie and Millie attend a black tie reception for CalSci fundraising and bond. Soon after, Charlie is asked by Millie to meet with Macmillan Pharmaceuticals, which according to Amita has a reputation for exploiting third-world countries. Amita serves as his conscience in this matter, and he goes to see Dr. Finch about it. With "Pythagorean wit," he dazzles Macmillan and is to serve as a mathematical consultant for the pharmaco-kinetic modelling project, only under the provision that CalSci will administer the trials and monitor the drug at every step, all computational analyses are conducted by Charlie and his team, and 5% of the gross will go to third-world AIDS organizations chosen by Professors Eppes and Ramanujan . In "Democracy", as part of his duties, he recruits the young fantasy baseball
and sabermetrics
fanatic Oswald Kittner (Jay Baruchel
), who shows great promise, to attend CalSci.
When Larry announces his leave of absence to board the International Space Station
(in the episode "Brutus"), Charlie is shocked and upset. He is in denial
about Larry's ambitions and he thinks reason of the risks involved will assert itself firmly in Larry's mind. He reasons that apparently Larry wouldn't do such a thing. Larry remands his few prized possessions to him, and he is grateful for the gesture. When he tells him his concerns, Larry is angered. Amita says to Larry, "[Charlie] has never dreamt of something he couldn't reach, so he has no idea what it is like to want something he is not able to get. So how could he understand how much [Larry] you would give up when this chance comes along?" Larry understands and decides to ignore Charlie's protestations. Though neither apologize, they are on good terms. Charlie says to Amita that he does not know what he would do without him, as he peruses through Larry's precious items that were bestowed upon him. In "Killer Chat", he says that he was glad that Larry's dream could come true, but feels conflicted about being relieved when he discovers that Larry might have been scrapped from the mission when NASA learned of his eccentric indulgences such as sleeping in the campus steam tunnels. However, Charlie agrees with Megan in wanting to help Larry and personally vouches for him. Eppes' words and affiliation with the NSA gets him back on the mission, thus, repaying a debt as Larry helped launch him into the academic firmament. Earlier, he had given him back his lucky t-shirt.
In "The Art of Reckoning", Charlie is initially overjoyed to see his friend Larry return, but Charlie is dismayed with Larry's lack of enthusiasm in life, so Charlie doesn't object to him readjusting at a monastery. His concern is apparent, and he says he just wants his friend back.
Since then, in "Trust Metric", Charlie is pleased to see his friend doing well, feeling that he needed a friend, and is glad to have focused on teaching while Don did not include him with FBI work; though, on previous occasions, he expressed the desire to be involved. Granger's escape from the prison bus causes him to become active in helping his brother once more, allowing him a chance to use set covering deployment.
Dr. Finch tells him to publish, and so he has renewed interest in old research, having decided to publish one of his eleventh-grade papers he started at nine years old, "The Mathematics of Friendship," with an addendum. A publishing company has turned his work into a classic book for those not mathematically inclined, while opting for a title with more pizazz, "Friendship, As Easy as Pi." Charlie takes joy in the belief that this book will allow his thoughts to reach a much wider audience than before. By the episode "In Security," the published book appears with the title "The Attraction Equation" and a dapper photo on the back cover of him holding a sculpture of a stellated
icosidodecahedron
with bevelled edges. A decision theoretic
approach to relationships is covered in the book. His proud father hands copies to friends and Larry sells signed copies on eBay
. He apparently has some fans and gives into a televised interview.
In "Checkmate", Charlie is training in weapons and tactics in LA's FBI school, where he is shown to have a high skill in marksmanship at the range, impressing many of his FBI training peers as well as his instructor. He is given a certificate of marksmanship by the FBI. In the episode "Pay to Play", Charlie convinces Don to let him join the team when they go to arrest a suspect, mentioning that he passed the FBI course.
In the season four finale "When Worlds Collide", Charlie helps an innocent colleague accused of terrorism by sending genetic research to scientists at Pakistani universities which is prohibited, with full cognizance of the consequences. As a result, Charlie is arrested, loses his security clearance and ultimately loses his ability to help Don on FBI cases. Once again, Charlie holds strong to his ideals. In the previous season's "Burn Rate", Charlie has strong opinions concerning genetic engineering
, believing bomb suspect, fellow prodigy, and former Feynman
student Emmett Glaser's ideas about genetic predeterminism are rational, not incendiary, and helps to clear his name.
The charges against Dr. Eppes are dropped. For a time, Don Eppes' team is attempting to make do with Fleinhardt's and Amita's expertise, but Charles' assistance is sorely missed to the point of consulting him secretly. For his part, Charles has been convinced by his lawyer and father to attempt to have his clearance restored. Even Don supports the idea and stands up to security clearance investigator Carl McGowan (Keith Carradine
), stating to go after him, not his brother. Temporarily, Charlie works as a LAPD consultant until the fiasco with his security clearance can be resolved. He later gets his clearance back and is working with his brother and the FBI again. He is trying to assert himself in the methodology used to solve a crime, having struggled with not being included, but some friction arises with Amita and Larry.
Charlie works once again with rival Marshall Penfield, as they settle their differences ("Frienemies"). Also, he is chosen to be the head of the think tank model comprising himself, Larry, Alan, and Amita ("Jacked"). As Dr. Eppes applies the Turing Test
to a seemingly unique artificial intelligence, he is tricked only to come to the realization that the computer only uses a recursive algorithm to apply the most human responses, while simultaneously being tempted by an offer to work for DARPA. Head of DARPA special projects Jane Karellen (Nancy Travis
) knows that he has a limited window to use his genius and tells Charlie that he is one of the top five minds on the planet. Amita's life is even threatened by the advanced computer ("First Law").
Late in season five, Charlie moves into a new office. While moving, he gets some inspiration for his cognitive emergence theory, which causes him to momentarily set aside his work on a series of home invasions for Don. Don is stabbed while attempting to arrest the home invaders ("The Fifth Man"). Charlie blames himself for Don being stabbed and throws himself into his FBI consultation work as a result ("Disturbed"). This worries everyone, especially Don, who tells him to "do whatever you want to do" ("Greatest Hits") while visiting Charlie in his new office. Around this time, Charlie is also presented with a series of letters from previous successive holders of this prestigious office, wherein each celebrated mathematician writes of accomplishments they intend to achieve, passing down the torch to the next in line to do the same. At first Charlie is hesitant, until the very determined Amita convinces him to write the corresponding letter and eases his burdens, as Charlie fears he cannot meet his destiny with so much weight to succeed being placed on his shoulders his entire life.
At the end of the season, while leaving for dinner, Charlie is attacked, and Amita is kidnapped. Charlie is so emotionally distraught that he cannot think of the math needed to find Amita. With the help of Don, Alan, and David, Charlie snaps out of it to locate Amita. Amita is rescued. He realizes that he did not want to lose Amita, and he proposes to her ("Angels and Devils").
At the end the premiere episode of the program's sixth season, it was revealed that Amita has accepted Charlie's proposal. The issue was skirted throughout the episode, as the two were waiting until Amita officially received permission from her parents. He and Amita discuss the number of children that they want to have, and they both decide that they may need to participate in the Big Brother/Big Sister
program for some practical experience before having children. He and Amita attempt to find a wedding date that is suited to their and their families' schedules; Alan suggests that they should take his and Margaret's anniversary date as Charlie and Amita's date. Charlie and Amita have since pushed the date forward as his academic fantasy has come to light, being a visiting professor at Cambridge University. In the season finale, after the wedding ceremony presided over by Larry, he is happy but worries about disconnecting with Don and offers to have the garage renovated into a guest house for his father. He toasts his friends and family and amazes at the prospect of staying in England with his wife.
. Finding the actor who would portray Charlie would be a challenge. Over one hundred actors auditioned for the role of Charlie Eppes. One of the actors was David Krumholtz, who later admitted in an interview with TVGuide.com and in an interview with USA Weekend's Lorrie Lynch to failing math in high school. Krumholtz was cast as Charlie because of his ability to make math sound natural.
To prepare for his role of Charlie Eppes, Krumholtz spent some time at Caltech talking to professors and walking the Caltech campus, attempting to understand both the basics of the math and the mathematician's mind. He even spoke with Dr. Tony Chan of UCLA about mathematicians’ work while filming the first pilot. Math consultants helped Krumholtz understand the basics of the equations on the show. Early on, Professor Rick Wilson’s graduate student, David Grynkiewicz, showed Krumholtz how to write his own equations and even filled in for his hand in several episodes. Krumholtz now frequently writes the equations himself.
Krumholtz memorizes the pages of mathematical equations and concepts that are a part of the script. When doing scenes involving audience-visions, Krumholtz prefers to recite his lines as the cameras are rolling; producers went along with this because they reasoned that if the cameras weren't rolling, the lines wouldn't make it into the show. (Audience visions are the explanations of the mathematics involved in the case.)
When the pilot was previewed, the reception was more positive. CBS executive Nina Tassler liked Charlie. The focus group that watched the original pilot for Numb3rs loved him.
When Numb3rs was previewed for the TV critics, the reception was different. Melanie McFarland, TV critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, stated that Charlie was not original as of the Pilot
. According to Lauren Aaronson of Popular Science
, Charlie’s expertise seems a little bit incredible. Robert Bianco of USA Today
, however, called Krumholtz, as Charlie, "appealing". Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine stated that Krumholtz, as Charlie, "stands out".
Since the early days of the series, the character of Charlie Eppes has become more widely accepted. Krumholtz appeared at the 2005 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM) convention in Anaheim. Since then, Krumholtz receives cheers when he attends math conventions. In a public service announcement, Krumholtz congratulated the Federal Bureau of Investigation
on their 100th anniversary. Charlie was one of the first geek
s on primetime television who paved the way for other shows starring geeks such as Chuck
and The Big Bang Theory. Charlie was a runner-up in the category of "Sexiest Brainiac" in TV Guide's poll in 2007.
s, usually followed by him rushing off to tell Don about his new insights. 'CharlieVision' is not to be confused with "audience visions," in which Charlie's voice uses an analogy to simplify a mathematical concept while corresponding images are flashed on screen. Ridley Scott
and Tony Scott
, executive producers for Numb3rs, designed the specifics of the Charlie-visions, such as the ash yellow color that appears on-screen when Charlie suddenly becomes inspired.
David Krumholtz
David Krumholtz is an American actor best known for playing Professor Charlie Eppes in the television series Numb3rs. He appeared as Seth Goldstein in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and its two sequels, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas...
) is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
crime drama Numb3rs
NUMB3RS
Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
.
Dr. Charles Edward Eppes is portrayed as a young mathematical
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of applied mathematics
Applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...
at the fictional California Institute of Science, CalSci (primarily based on Caltech, where some filming and mathematics consulting is done). As a world-class mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, Charlie helps his brother Don Eppes
Don Eppes
Don Eppes is the main fictional character in the television show Numb3rs. He is played by Rob Morrow.Don is an FBI Special Agent who runs the FBI Violent Crimes Squad in Los Angeles. Don recruits his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes, to help him and the Bureau solve some of their most...
solve many of his perplexing FBI cases, sometimes with the help of his best friend, mentor and colleague Larry Fleinhardt
Larry Fleinhardt
Larry Fleinhardt PhD is a fictional character in the television show Numb3rs, played by Peter MacNicol.Dr. Lawrence Fleinhardt is a professor of physics at CalSci and best friend and colleague of Charlie Eppes...
and his on-again off-again girlfriend, former student and now wife, Amita Ramanujan
Amita Ramanujan
Amita Ramanujan is a fictional character from the TV series Numb3rs. Over the course of the series, she has become a professor at CalSci and has since become romantically involved with her former thesis advisor, Dr. Charlie Eppes . First introduced in "Pilot", the character of Amita has received...
, who further refines Charlie's approach and helps him stay focused. Charlie has consulted for the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
(NSA), in part as a cryptanalyst
Cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information that is normally required to do so. Typically, this involves knowing how the system works and finding a secret key...
, for nearly five years, having attained TS/SCI security clearance. It was revoked at the end of season four after he transmitted information to Pakistan, but has recently been re-instated.
Backstory
According to Eppes' fatherAlan Eppes
Alan Eppes is a fictional character on the television show Numb3rs, played by Judd Hirsch. Alan is the father of the main characters, brothers Charlie and Don Eppes...
, he could multiply four-digit numbers mentally at age three and at the age of four required special teachers. In the second grade, he attempted to find a 70-digit narcissistic number
Narcissistic number
In recreational number theory, a narcissistic number is a number that is the sum of its own digits each raised to the power of the number of digits. This definition depends on the base b of the number system used, e.g...
in base 12
Duodecimal
The duodecimal system is a positional notation numeral system using twelve as its base. In this system, the number ten may be written as 'A', 'T' or 'X', and the number eleven as 'B' or 'E'...
— Eppes has described himself as "quixotic
Quixotism
Quixotism is impracticality in pursuit of ideals, especially those ideals manifested by rash, lofty and romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action. It also serves to describe an idealism without regard to practicality...
" in elementary school. A prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
, he attended Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
at the age of 13 after graduating from high school at the same time as his brother who is five years his senior ("Soft Target"), and took Professor Lawrence Fleinhardt's quantum physics course in his first year. They became fast friends, with Fleinhardt establishing his academic connections. Eppes published his first mathematical treatise
Treatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.-Noteworthy treatises:...
at the age of 14 (in the American Journal of Mathematics
American Journal of Mathematics
The American Journal of Mathematics is a bimonthly mathematics journal published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.- History :The American Journal of Mathematics is the oldest continuously-published mathematical journal in the United States, established in 1878 at the Johns Hopkins University...
) and graduated at the age of 16. In fact, he was the youngest person to ever write a paper of importance.
It was his paper on the Eppes convergence
Limit of a function
In mathematics, the limit of a function is a fundamental concept in calculus and analysis concerning the behavior of that function near a particular input....
, which concerned asymptotics
Asymptote
In analytic geometry, an asymptote of a curve is a line such that the distance between the curve and the line approaches zero as they tend to infinity. Some sources include the requirement that the curve may not cross the line infinitely often, but this is unusual for modern authors...
of Hermitian
Hermitian
A number of mathematical entities are named Hermitian, after the mathematician Charles Hermite:*Hermitian adjoint*Hermitian connection, the unique connection on a Hermitian manifold that satisfies specific conditions...
random matrices
Random matrix
In probability theory and mathematical physics, a random matrix is a matrix-valued random variable. Many important properties of physical systems can be represented mathematically as matrix problems...
, that made him a star in his field. Following a seminar that heavily criticized this seminal piece many years after its initial publication, Charlie realized that his work with the FBI has prevented him from doing research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
significant to other mathematicians and now hopes to spend decades on cognitive
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
emergence theory
Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems....
("the mathematics of the brain") to rectify this certain inequity, which has delighted Fleinhardt. Although he was a child prodigy, Charlie now laments the fact that his best years in his research will never come ahead of schedule again.
Eppes is a multiple Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
("Decoy Effect"), a recipient of the Milton Prize and a nominee for the Fields Medal
Fields Medal
The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...
. Following his five-year research on random matrices
Random matrix
In probability theory and mathematical physics, a random matrix is a matrix-valued random variable. Many important properties of physical systems can be represented mathematically as matrix problems...
, Charlie worked on sequence
Sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an ordered list of objects . Like a set, it contains members , and the number of terms is called the length of the sequence. Unlike a set, order matters, and exactly the same elements can appear multiple times at different positions in the sequence...
s with orthogonal
Orthogonality
Orthogonality occurs when two things can vary independently, they are uncorrelated, or they are perpendicular.-Mathematics:In mathematics, two vectors are orthogonal if they are perpendicular, i.e., they form a right angle...
symmetry
Symmetry
Symmetry generally conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection...
. He has also provided insights for possibly solving the P vs. NP problem and published works on H-infinity Control of Non-Linear Systems
Nonlinear control
Nonlinear control is the area of control engineering specifically involved with systems that are nonlinear, time-variant, or both. Many well-established analysis and design techniques exist for LTI systems ; however, one or both of the controller and the system under control in a general control...
and computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with...
, while his current research is in cognitive
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
emergence theory
Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems....
. He has presented seminars on harmonic analysis
Harmonic analysis
Harmonic analysis is the branch of mathematics that studies the representation of functions or signals as the superposition of basic waves. It investigates and generalizes the notions of Fourier series and Fourier transforms...
and the zeros of random
Randomness
Randomness has somewhat differing meanings as used in various fields. It also has common meanings which are connected to the notion of predictability of events....
orthogonal polynomials
Orthogonal polynomials
In mathematics, the classical orthogonal polynomials are the most widely used orthogonal polynomials, and consist of the Hermite polynomials, the Laguerre polynomials, the Jacobi polynomials together with their special cases the ultraspherical polynomials, the Chebyshev polynomials, and the...
and given lectures on group theory
Group theory
In mathematics and abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as groups.The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, fields, and vector spaces can all be seen as groups endowed with additional operations and...
and Kac–Moody algebra
Kac–Moody algebra
In mathematics, a Kac–Moody algebra is a Lie algebra, usually infinite-dimensional, that can be defined by generators and relations through a generalized Cartan matrix...
s. Eppes has taught courses on calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
, chaos theory
Chaos theory
Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...
, fluid dynamics
Fluid dynamics
In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...
, game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
and probability
Probability
Probability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
at CalSci in addition to giving guest lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
s on applied probability
Probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena. The central objects of probability theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single...
. The lecture in which he converted the classroom into a miniature casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
for analyzing probabilities is considered an "Eppes Classic". Also, Eppes has taken over Fleinhardt's computational physics
Computational physics
Computational physics is the study and implementation of numerical algorithms to solve problems in physics for which a quantitative theory already exists...
class when he was asked to do so, and has given a joint lecture on circular motion
Circular motion
In physics, circular motion is rotation along a circular path or a circular orbit. It can be uniform, that is, with constant angular rate of rotation , or non-uniform, that is, with a changing rate of rotation. The rotation around a fixed axis of a three-dimensional body involves circular motion of...
and the Coriolis effect
Coriolis effect
In physics, the Coriolis effect is a deflection of moving objects when they are viewed in a rotating reference frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the left of the motion of the object; in one with counter-clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the right...
with Fleinhardt. Professor Otto Bahnoff took over Eppes' mathematical physics
Mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
grad seminar on the day he got married.
Characterization
Charlie has wild curly hair, is wary of people, and frequently enthralled with objects and patterns. According to Krumholtz, Charlie wants to understand how the world works. His father has said Charlie is easily fascinated, possesses a big heart and is thorough, but he misses certain things completely. Meanwhile, Larry observed that he is "a talented theoreticianTheory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
with an ego problem" and a student once described him as fast-talking and disorganized, to the agreement of Larry. Fleinhardt also accurately noticed that his colleague has a high standard of guilt and is a pragmatist
Pragmaticism
Pragmaticism is a term used by Charles Sanders Peirce for his pragmatic philosophy starting in 1905, in order to distance himself and it from pragmatism, the original name, which had been used in a manner he did not approve of in the "literary journals"...
. Charlie is rather fond of providing excessive explanations (e.g., his discussion of Occam's razor
Occam's razor
Occam's razor, also known as Ockham's razor, and sometimes expressed in Latin as lex parsimoniae , is a principle that generally recommends from among competing hypotheses selecting the one that makes the fewest new assumptions.-Overview:The principle is often summarized as "simpler explanations...
) and reducing complex phenomena to intuitively obvious situations through practical analogies that are quite unlike Larry's metaphysical musings and cosmic metaphors. (These analogies are known as "audience visions" or, as friend Megan Reeves calls them, "those cute little analogies.") While contemplating, his antics and mannerisms may even disconcert more conventional thinkers. Wearing his headset, Dr. Eppes has an intense focusing ability as he voraciously writes equation
Equation
An equation is a mathematical statement that asserts the equality of two expressions. In modern notation, this is written by placing the expressions on either side of an equals sign , for examplex + 3 = 5\,asserts that x+3 is equal to 5...
s, often covering several chalkboards
Blackboard
A chalkboard is a reusable writing surface.Blackboard may also refer to:* Blackboards are synonymous with "boards of infamy", an element of agitation-propaganda in the Soviet Union in 1930s, coincidental with Holodomor...
with a staccato clacking and the aid of a red chalk holder. Nevertheless, if his line of thought is interrupted during a tense moment, as one of restricted foresight, he can become very disgruntled. Further, when deeply concentrating on a particular problem, it seems Charlie is unable to provide insights to other topics for the sake that they are simply needed or wanted—he has to write what is in his head. Like his brother Don, he is characteristically stubborn and obsessive ("one part exuberance, two parts obsession"), especially when it comes to work, but he's rather naïve when it comes to human behavior. The latter often interferes with his FBI work and, thus, is the cause of much distress for him at times.
He is extremely talented in chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, as it requires both his father and brother to play against him and a distraction to defeat him. Charlie also has a vast understanding of theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
, often assisting Larry with his multi-dimensional supergravity theory
Supergravity
In theoretical physics, supergravity is a field theory that combines the principles of supersymmetry and general relativity. Together, these imply that, in supergravity, the supersymmetry is a local symmetry...
and papers on gravity waves
Gravitational wave
In physics, gravitational waves are theoretical ripples in the curvature of spacetime which propagates as a wave, traveling outward from the source. Predicted to exist by Albert Einstein in 1916 on the basis of his theory of general relativity, gravitational waves theoretically transport energy as...
, and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, extending to knowledge of ciliate
Ciliate
The ciliates are a group of protozoans characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagella but typically shorter and present in much larger numbers with a different undulating pattern than flagella...
protozoa
Protozoa
Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...
and the spread of infectious diseases. While brilliant in some areas, he is lacking in others. Dr. Fleinhardt has stated that it is a good thing he went into applied mathematics as opposed to engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, as machines malfunction in his presence, though he was able to take apart and rebuild his father's cell phone to analyze its GPS tranceiver. He is apparently a bad speller (e.g., he misspells "anomaly" and "conceited") and does not know the meaning of "defenestration
Defenestration
Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.The term "defenestration" was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618. The word comes from the Latin de- and fenestra...
" (for which Larry chastises him stating that the idealization is to be a Renaissance man
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
and that even math and physics majors had to have a course on English). Thus, his father likes playing Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
with him.
Charlie is a rationalist. He is skeptical of UFOs, psychic ability, and gematria—all considered to be pseudosciences. He also does not like illusions. He, however, is also fairly open-minded in terms of faith and religion.
Evolution over the series
The episode "Uncertainty Principle" is significant for the backstory it gives on the familial relationships, particularly Charlie's difficulty in dealing with his mother's death from cancer. While it's unclear how Don reacted, Charlie spent the last three months of his mother's life isolated in the garage, incessantly working on one of the Millennium Prize ProblemsMillennium Prize Problems
The Millennium Prize Problems are seven problems in mathematics that were stated by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000. As of September 2011, six of the problems remain unsolved. A correct solution to any of the problems results in a US$1,000,000 prize being awarded by the institute...
, specifically P vs NP; it's a point of contention between the brothers. Also, Charlie doesn't think Don understood what he went through during their school years, especially how he was treated as "Don's brainiac little brother" by his peers in high school, and how he often left him to his own resources as a child, though he was not as inept as Don had reasoned. However, Charlie's relationship with Don remains strong, as he has begun to increasingly fear for his brother's safety on the job and still looks to his older brother for acceptance. Charlie and his father worry about Don committing to relationships, and for a time, fear that he had been cheating on Robin Brooks. Ironically, Charlie has similar problems with women himself. After a couple dozen murder cases, Charlie is somewhat jaded and world-weary like his brother. FBI agent David Sinclair
David Sinclair (Numb3rs)
David Sinclair is a fictitious FBI agent in the TV show Numb3rs. First introduced in the Pilot episode, he has become the usual partner of FBI Special Agent Colby Granger and has also become the primary relief supervisor for the Supervisor of the FBI Violent Crimes division, Don Eppes...
of Don's team even comments that he has never seen two brothers so similar and yet so different. In "The Janus List", the brothers seem to take on each other's tendencies a bit. Though, in season five, Charlie is dismayed that Don does not reveal to him his newfound religious faith.
In "Prime Suspect," Charlie purchases the beautiful Craftsman
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
family home from his father, who continues to live with him. Now 30 years old, Charlie wants to be responsible and take care of his father but still believes that much of the pressures involving their dad has been put on his shoulders as Don doesn't seem to have enough time. Realizing this, Alan sets his sights on moving out to accomplish things on his own, with Charlie seemingly supporting the idea, but has since chosen to stay as he favors his son's company. Recently, Charlie is bothered by his father trying to impose his will on him with maintaining the house, as he is a full tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
d professor at one of the most prestigious institutions in the country working on "life-altering" mathematics, i.e., in solving crimes. Alan just wants him to be responsible and not end up like Larry, though Mr. Eppes respects Fleinhardt. Even he has thought of this possibility and decides to do more around the home. After Charlie compares his own situation to that of Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
his father looks into information on the physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and understands his son's predicament. Charlie also feels guilty about the amount of time his parents, particularly his mother, who always was attuned to his way of thinking, spent with him as a child; he even asks his mother (JoBeth Williams
JoBeth Williams
JoBeth Williams is an American film and television actress and director, and current President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.-Early life:...
) in a dream if she regrets the time away from Don and Alan because of the special attention he needed growing up.
Charlie's research often interferes with his relationships: as with Amita on their first date, for all they could talk about is mathematics; Fleinhardt says that it is a common interest and they should not struggle to avoid the subject. Charlie and Amita had several false starts. Charlie has also spent some time with his ex-girlfriend, Susan Berry (Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger is an English actress known for her roles in the ABC series Lost as Penelope "Penny" Widmore, and as Olivia Benford on ABC's FlashForward.-Education:...
), an attractive neuroscientist
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
from London. He had lived with Susan for two years, and Larry described this as his very own Berry's phase
Geometric phase
In classical and quantum mechanics, the geometric phase, Pancharatnam–Berry phase , Pancharatnam phase or most commonly Berry phase, is a phase acquired over...
. However, she later reveals that she is currently involved with someone else and has to return to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Charlie attempts to start a relationship with Amita once more, though her job offer at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
strains this possibility and makes him distraught for some time. Eventually, she decides to take the alternative offer at CalSci with the hope to begin a romantic relationship with him, though his fear of possible failure causes him to question whether he wants this second chance; Don cautions him about such an attitude. Amita notices his ambivalence and isn't certain if she wants to back out of the relationship, but he then pushes it forward. Pressures from their colleagues over the inappropriateness of the relationship nearly cost them, but by the middle of the third season their romantic involvement stabilizes and they have grown considerably closer. He feels rejected when Amita does not want him to meet her father, due to his expectations about the men she dates. Initially, he wonders if it is based on him being Jewish, but the problem is that he is not India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n-born. Alan explains that Mr. Ramanujan would like him after meeting him. Charlie and Amita state that they love each other, and have even decided to move in together, though, the actual living arrangement has not been determined. When Amita's parents finally meet him, they are rude, but warm to him later. Alan says that Charlie will have to marry her.
Unforeseen complications with his work emerge as the new Chair
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
of the CalSci Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy Division, Dr. Mildred Finch, in the episode "Waste Not", makes Charlie head of the Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
admissions committee against his wishes, bogging him down with more work, and gives him pressures about using the school's supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
for FBI work or missing classes for such. This leads to Charlie being confrontational, but she calms him when she says she just wants him to be "the Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
of the mathematics department
Academic department
An academic department is a division of a university or school faculty devoted to a particular academic discipline. This article covers United States usage at the university level....
." In the episode "Take Out", Charlie and Millie attend a black tie reception for CalSci fundraising and bond. Soon after, Charlie is asked by Millie to meet with Macmillan Pharmaceuticals, which according to Amita has a reputation for exploiting third-world countries. Amita serves as his conscience in this matter, and he goes to see Dr. Finch about it. With "Pythagorean wit," he dazzles Macmillan and is to serve as a mathematical consultant for the pharmaco-kinetic modelling project, only under the provision that CalSci will administer the trials and monitor the drug at every step, all computational analyses are conducted by Charlie and his team, and 5% of the gross will go to third-world AIDS organizations chosen by Professors Eppes and Ramanujan . In "Democracy", as part of his duties, he recruits the young fantasy baseball
Fantasy baseball
Fantasy baseball is a game where participants manage an imaginary roster of real Major League baseball players. The participants compete against one another using those players' real life statistics to score points...
and sabermetrics
Sabermetrics
Sabermetrics is the specialized analysis of baseball through objective, empirical evidence, specifically baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research...
fanatic Oswald Kittner (Jay Baruchel
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders "Jay" Baruchel is a Canadian actor. He has had a successful career in comedy films, and has appeared in supporting roles in such box office successes as Million Dollar Baby, Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder, as well as starring in films like She's Out of My League, The Trotsky,...
), who shows great promise, to attend CalSci.
When Larry announces his leave of absence to board the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
(in the episode "Brutus"), Charlie is shocked and upset. He is in denial
Denial
Denial is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence.The subject may use:* simple denial: deny the reality of the...
about Larry's ambitions and he thinks reason of the risks involved will assert itself firmly in Larry's mind. He reasons that apparently Larry wouldn't do such a thing. Larry remands his few prized possessions to him, and he is grateful for the gesture. When he tells him his concerns, Larry is angered. Amita says to Larry, "[Charlie] has never dreamt of something he couldn't reach, so he has no idea what it is like to want something he is not able to get. So how could he understand how much [Larry] you would give up when this chance comes along?" Larry understands and decides to ignore Charlie's protestations. Though neither apologize, they are on good terms. Charlie says to Amita that he does not know what he would do without him, as he peruses through Larry's precious items that were bestowed upon him. In "Killer Chat", he says that he was glad that Larry's dream could come true, but feels conflicted about being relieved when he discovers that Larry might have been scrapped from the mission when NASA learned of his eccentric indulgences such as sleeping in the campus steam tunnels. However, Charlie agrees with Megan in wanting to help Larry and personally vouches for him. Eppes' words and affiliation with the NSA gets him back on the mission, thus, repaying a debt as Larry helped launch him into the academic firmament. Earlier, he had given him back his lucky t-shirt.
In "The Art of Reckoning", Charlie is initially overjoyed to see his friend Larry return, but Charlie is dismayed with Larry's lack of enthusiasm in life, so Charlie doesn't object to him readjusting at a monastery. His concern is apparent, and he says he just wants his friend back.
Since then, in "Trust Metric", Charlie is pleased to see his friend doing well, feeling that he needed a friend, and is glad to have focused on teaching while Don did not include him with FBI work; though, on previous occasions, he expressed the desire to be involved. Granger's escape from the prison bus causes him to become active in helping his brother once more, allowing him a chance to use set covering deployment.
Dr. Finch tells him to publish, and so he has renewed interest in old research, having decided to publish one of his eleventh-grade papers he started at nine years old, "The Mathematics of Friendship," with an addendum. A publishing company has turned his work into a classic book for those not mathematically inclined, while opting for a title with more pizazz, "Friendship, As Easy as Pi." Charlie takes joy in the belief that this book will allow his thoughts to reach a much wider audience than before. By the episode "In Security," the published book appears with the title "The Attraction Equation" and a dapper photo on the back cover of him holding a sculpture of a stellated
Stellation
Stellation is a process of constructing new polygons , new polyhedra in three dimensions, or, in general, new polytopes in n dimensions. The process consists of extending elements such as edges or face planes, usually in a symmetrical way, until they meet each other again...
icosidodecahedron
Icosidodecahedron
In geometry, an icosidodecahedron is a polyhedron with twenty triangular faces and twelve pentagonal faces. An icosidodecahedron has 30 identical vertices, with two triangles and two pentagons meeting at each, and 60 identical edges, each separating a triangle from a pentagon...
with bevelled edges. A decision theoretic
Decision theory
Decision theory in economics, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, and statistics is concerned with identifying the values, uncertainties and other issues relevant in a given decision, its rationality, and the resulting optimal decision...
approach to relationships is covered in the book. His proud father hands copies to friends and Larry sells signed copies on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
. He apparently has some fans and gives into a televised interview.
In "Checkmate", Charlie is training in weapons and tactics in LA's FBI school, where he is shown to have a high skill in marksmanship at the range, impressing many of his FBI training peers as well as his instructor. He is given a certificate of marksmanship by the FBI. In the episode "Pay to Play", Charlie convinces Don to let him join the team when they go to arrest a suspect, mentioning that he passed the FBI course.
In the season four finale "When Worlds Collide", Charlie helps an innocent colleague accused of terrorism by sending genetic research to scientists at Pakistani universities which is prohibited, with full cognizance of the consequences. As a result, Charlie is arrested, loses his security clearance and ultimately loses his ability to help Don on FBI cases. Once again, Charlie holds strong to his ideals. In the previous season's "Burn Rate", Charlie has strong opinions concerning genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
, believing bomb suspect, fellow prodigy, and former Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
student Emmett Glaser's ideas about genetic predeterminism are rational, not incendiary, and helps to clear his name.
The charges against Dr. Eppes are dropped. For a time, Don Eppes' team is attempting to make do with Fleinhardt's and Amita's expertise, but Charles' assistance is sorely missed to the point of consulting him secretly. For his part, Charles has been convinced by his lawyer and father to attempt to have his clearance restored. Even Don supports the idea and stands up to security clearance investigator Carl McGowan (Keith Carradine
Keith Carradine
Keith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
), stating to go after him, not his brother. Temporarily, Charlie works as a LAPD consultant until the fiasco with his security clearance can be resolved. He later gets his clearance back and is working with his brother and the FBI again. He is trying to assert himself in the methodology used to solve a crime, having struggled with not being included, but some friction arises with Amita and Larry.
Charlie works once again with rival Marshall Penfield, as they settle their differences ("Frienemies"). Also, he is chosen to be the head of the think tank model comprising himself, Larry, Alan, and Amita ("Jacked"). As Dr. Eppes applies the Turing Test
Turing test
The Turing test is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour. In Turing's original illustrative example, a human judge engages in a natural language conversation with a human and a machine designed to generate performance indistinguishable from that of a human being. All...
to a seemingly unique artificial intelligence, he is tricked only to come to the realization that the computer only uses a recursive algorithm to apply the most human responses, while simultaneously being tempted by an offer to work for DARPA. Head of DARPA special projects Jane Karellen (Nancy Travis
Nancy Travis
Nancy Ann Travis is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady , Married to the Mob , Air America , Internal Affairs , So I Married an Axe Murderer , Greedy , and Fluke...
) knows that he has a limited window to use his genius and tells Charlie that he is one of the top five minds on the planet. Amita's life is even threatened by the advanced computer ("First Law").
Late in season five, Charlie moves into a new office. While moving, he gets some inspiration for his cognitive emergence theory, which causes him to momentarily set aside his work on a series of home invasions for Don. Don is stabbed while attempting to arrest the home invaders ("The Fifth Man"). Charlie blames himself for Don being stabbed and throws himself into his FBI consultation work as a result ("Disturbed"). This worries everyone, especially Don, who tells him to "do whatever you want to do" ("Greatest Hits") while visiting Charlie in his new office. Around this time, Charlie is also presented with a series of letters from previous successive holders of this prestigious office, wherein each celebrated mathematician writes of accomplishments they intend to achieve, passing down the torch to the next in line to do the same. At first Charlie is hesitant, until the very determined Amita convinces him to write the corresponding letter and eases his burdens, as Charlie fears he cannot meet his destiny with so much weight to succeed being placed on his shoulders his entire life.
At the end of the season, while leaving for dinner, Charlie is attacked, and Amita is kidnapped. Charlie is so emotionally distraught that he cannot think of the math needed to find Amita. With the help of Don, Alan, and David, Charlie snaps out of it to locate Amita. Amita is rescued. He realizes that he did not want to lose Amita, and he proposes to her ("Angels and Devils").
At the end the premiere episode of the program's sixth season, it was revealed that Amita has accepted Charlie's proposal. The issue was skirted throughout the episode, as the two were waiting until Amita officially received permission from her parents. He and Amita discuss the number of children that they want to have, and they both decide that they may need to participate in the Big Brother/Big Sister
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501 non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that try to have a measurable impact on youth....
program for some practical experience before having children. He and Amita attempt to find a wedding date that is suited to their and their families' schedules; Alan suggests that they should take his and Margaret's anniversary date as Charlie and Amita's date. Charlie and Amita have since pushed the date forward as his academic fantasy has come to light, being a visiting professor at Cambridge University. In the season finale, after the wedding ceremony presided over by Larry, he is happy but worries about disconnecting with Don and offers to have the garage renovated into a guest house for his father. He toasts his friends and family and amazes at the prospect of staying in England with his wife.
Creation
Long intrigued by mathematicians and scientists, creators Cheryl Heuton and Nick Falacci created a show with one as the protagonist. Inspiration for Charlie came specifically from Richard FeynmanRichard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
. Finding the actor who would portray Charlie would be a challenge. Over one hundred actors auditioned for the role of Charlie Eppes. One of the actors was David Krumholtz, who later admitted in an interview with TVGuide.com and in an interview with USA Weekend's Lorrie Lynch to failing math in high school. Krumholtz was cast as Charlie because of his ability to make math sound natural.
To prepare for his role of Charlie Eppes, Krumholtz spent some time at Caltech talking to professors and walking the Caltech campus, attempting to understand both the basics of the math and the mathematician's mind. He even spoke with Dr. Tony Chan of UCLA about mathematicians’ work while filming the first pilot. Math consultants helped Krumholtz understand the basics of the equations on the show. Early on, Professor Rick Wilson’s graduate student, David Grynkiewicz, showed Krumholtz how to write his own equations and even filled in for his hand in several episodes. Krumholtz now frequently writes the equations himself.
Krumholtz memorizes the pages of mathematical equations and concepts that are a part of the script. When doing scenes involving audience-visions, Krumholtz prefers to recite his lines as the cameras are rolling; producers went along with this because they reasoned that if the cameras weren't rolling, the lines wouldn't make it into the show. (Audience visions are the explanations of the mathematics involved in the case.)
Reception
Early reception of Charlie varied according the audience in question. Due to television production's traditional approach of utilizing only two worlds for filming, production staff initially opposed the idea of Charlie being a college professor. Some even unsuccessfully suggested to Heuton and Falacci that Charlie should be working with the FBI full-time as an employee.When the pilot was previewed, the reception was more positive. CBS executive Nina Tassler liked Charlie. The focus group that watched the original pilot for Numb3rs loved him.
When Numb3rs was previewed for the TV critics, the reception was different. Melanie McFarland, TV critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, stated that Charlie was not original as of the Pilot
Pilot (Numb3rs)
"Pilot" is the first episode of the American television show Numb3rs. Based on a real-life serial rape case, "Pilot" features two brothers, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a mathematics professor at a Southern California university, using their individual skills to capture a...
. According to Lauren Aaronson of Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
, Charlie’s expertise seems a little bit incredible. Robert Bianco of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, however, called Krumholtz, as Charlie, "appealing". Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine stated that Krumholtz, as Charlie, "stands out".
Since the early days of the series, the character of Charlie Eppes has become more widely accepted. Krumholtz appeared at the 2005 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics was founded in 1920. It has grown to be the world's largest organization concerned with mathematics education, having close to 100,000 members across the USA and Canada, and internationally....
(NCTM) convention in Anaheim. Since then, Krumholtz receives cheers when he attends math conventions. In a public service announcement, Krumholtz congratulated the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
on their 100th anniversary. Charlie was one of the first geek
Geek
The word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
s on primetime television who paved the way for other shows starring geeks such as Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
and The Big Bang Theory. Charlie was a runner-up in the category of "Sexiest Brainiac" in TV Guide's poll in 2007.
CharlieVision
CharlieVision (as labeled by the show's creators) is the mode in which Charlie's insights are displayed on-screen. It consists of fast-paced visions or cutscenes often characterized by false-color images that integrate his analogies and mathematical modelMathematical model
A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used not only in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines A mathematical model is a...
s, usually followed by him rushing off to tell Don about his new insights. 'CharlieVision' is not to be confused with "audience visions," in which Charlie's voice uses an analogy to simplify a mathematical concept while corresponding images are flashed on screen. Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
and Tony Scott
Tony Scott
Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...
, executive producers for Numb3rs, designed the specifics of the Charlie-visions, such as the ash yellow color that appears on-screen when Charlie suddenly becomes inspired.