Blaise Pascal built a working mechanical calculator at nineteen, laid the foundations of probability theory, and made fundamental contributions to physics and geometry. Then, at thirty-one, he had a mystical experience so overwhelming that he sewed a written account of it into his coat and wore it against his skin for the rest of his life. He abandoned mathematics for theology and spent his final years writing the Pensees — fragments of a defense of Christianity left unfinished by his death at thirty-nine.

This episode traces Pascal from his prodigy childhood through the calculating machine, the probability correspondence with Fermat, the "Night of Fire" conversion, and the theological fragments that became one of the most influential works in Christian apologetics.

• Pascal's childhood as a mathematical prodigy and the calculator  ...