1. What’s in a Name Part 1<br />Harold:<br />Meaning: “leader of the army”<br />Origins: Scandinavian, English, Anglo-Saxon <br />Crick<br /> Meaning: hill or rock<br />Famous Person: Francis Crick <br />neuroscientist <br />molecular biologist <br />physicist<br />noted for being one of the two discoverers of the DNA molecule<br />Why name a character Harold Crick?<br />We believe that the makers of “ Stranger than Fiction” named that particular character this name because, this charater had to have the courage of an army leader, he needed to be able to accept his fate even if it meant he would die. The character Harold was also good with numbers; showing a connection between Francis Crick and the character Harold Crick. <br />Ana<br />Meaning: grace or favor<br />Origins: Hebrew, Latin<br />Pascal<br />Meaning: relating to Easter or possibly Passover<br />Famous Person: Blaise Pascal<br />French mathematician<br />Physicist<br />Inventor<br />Writer<br />Catholic Philosopher<br />Child prodigy; taught by tax collector father<br />Why name a character Ana Pascal?<br />We think that the character Ana was named as she was because Blaise Pascal was taught by his tax collector father, Ana was taught by a tax collector, how to manage her taxes without going to jail. Plus she needed mathematics in order to be a baker.<br /> <br />Jules<br />Meaning: youthful<br />Origins: French, Latin<br />Hilbert<br /> <br />Meaning: magnificent in battle<br />Famous Person: David Hilbert<br />German mathematician<br />One if the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries<br />Discovered and developed invariant theory and the axiomatization of geometry<br />Formulated the theory of Hilbert spaces, one of the foundations of functional analysis<br />Why name a character Jules Hilbert?<br />The character Jules Hilbert acts very youthful in the movie(ie: wearing no shoes or socks, not combing his hair,etc). he is similar to David Hilbert becausehe came up with theories about Harold’s life, just like David Hilbert came up with theories about Mathematics.<br />Karen<br />Meaning: loving, charitable, pure<br />Origins: Welsh, Danish, Greek<br />Eiffel<br />Meaning: tower<br />Famous Person: Gustave Eiffel<br />French structural engineer<br />Entrepreneur<br />Specialist of metallic structures<br />Designed the Eiffel Tower<br />Why name a character Karen Eiffel?<br />Karen designed her book, just like Gustave designed the Eiffel tower. However she changed the ending of her book in order to save someones life because of her loving nature.<br /> <br />Penny<br />Meaning: weaver, duck<br />Origins: English, Greek<br />Escher<br />Meaning: one who lived near an ash tree or grove<br />Famous Person: M.C. Escher<br />Dutch graphic artist<br />Known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints<br />Works featured impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture and tessellations<br />Why name a character Penny Escher?<br />The makers of “Stranger than Fiction” named this character Penny Escher because she helps other authors weave good stories, with artistic ability.<br /> <br />Mercator<br />Meaning: merchant<br />Famous Person: Gerardus Mercator<br />Flemish cartographer<br />Remembered for the Mercator projection world map, which proved very useful to many later explorers<br />Why name this character Dr. Mercator?<br />He was named Mercator because, in the movie, the doctor(Mercator) was an explorer of the medical field, selling his medical expertise. <br />