When I see Malik arrive
with his walking frame,
I feel sad.
That boy is braver than we think.
He's borderline,
so we shouldn't give up on him.
Can we talk education?
It's more important
than madam's compassion.
We're at school to learn,
not to snivel.
We're here, for our class,
and Malik in particular,
to say that Mrs. Gquil
has serious teaching problems.
She doesn't motivate us.
There's no constructive interaction.
We're in a technical school,
in a technical class
to learn technical things.
Mrs. Gquil won't let us do
any practical experiments.
She explains them theoretically,
But we never do any.
We never touch the machines.
We only have proofs,
never any experiments.
I know.
I don't want you touching the machines.
Experiments require maturity.
Sorry, you're still children.
Poor thing...
Mrs. Gquil,
the inspector will be back soon.
We'll wait for his opinion.
The same one again?
Don't you remember last time?
I'll sit in on it this time.
I insist. All right?
Yes.
Mrs. Gquil
Sorry.
Hey, I know you!
You teach physics.
I'm Malik's father.
You enjoy your free time.
Teachers...
They have it easy.
Today we'll talk about electric heat
or, more exactly,
how to turn heat into electricity.
The starting point...
was the highlighting
of an experimental link
between the temperature
and the electric potential
at the terminals of a material.
For each material,
there's a coefficient,
the Seebeck coefficient...
Ma'am, it's not "See Dick"?
to quantify the relation
between the thermal potential
and the electric potential.
Spiderman, Spiderman
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size
Catches thieves
just like flies...
Spiderman?
You think you can acquire great power
by magic, miracle
or accident?
Ma'am, Spiderman doesn't exist
but we all like him.
It's two things. For example,
we know you exist
but no one likes you!
We read Spiderman for fun
not to learn.
For the fun of it!
Look at her.
A teacher doesn't need to be liked,
but understood.
I'll continue, Malik.
The joy you find in superheroes
maintains your idleness,
rooted in what you watch
on TV or on the Internet.
Superheroes don't need school.
You sit around waiting for miracles.
But the mind needs exercise
like the body.
Teach me to exercise my body?
You know mine doesn't work very well.
Honey, some quickly become teachers,
others don't.
You're one of the slow ones.
The very slow ones.
But your resistance
will make up for your slowness.
Hard work always pays off.
And, God, you work hard.
I heard what happened.
By answering criticism
in a school council,
you dump us in the shit.
We don't answer students' recriminations
in a school council!
Ever!
The principal knows that
and he let you walk into it.
Sorry, I know.
I'll be careful.
Go, man, get the cash
Cash to lure the babes...
- I can rap too!
- You really suck, man.
What are you talking about?
Why are you going?
Dad?
I'll work with a pal tonight.
Don't wait for me.
Belkacem!
Walk me to the 2000 Estate?
No, I'm not interested.
Please.
No, I'm seeing guys
from another school tonight.
Poor Malik.
- I like how you walk.
- You stick to me.
It makes me sick.
Look how you walk.
I know.
I like looking at you.
Shave your moustache!
I think it's true, Malik.
Girls don't like
budding moustaches on boys.
Don't take it badly.
Just shave it.
What d'you know?
You're old.
You only know old stuff.
Halim M'Bamba?
Present.
Ibrahima Baradji?
Present.
Paul-Charles Nibasenge?
Yes.
Oussama Bacari?
Present, ma'am.
Tomorrow evening, we can observe
the phenomenon of the harvest moon.
It's a fascinating optical phenomenon.
I'll hand out the protocol
I've drawn up
so you can observe it
from home before bed.
Ma'am!
I have an optical phenomenon too!
What's that moustache?
It's nature doing its work.
It's growing!
You think I'm stupid?
Not my fault my body's wild.
You say to respect
the laws of nature.
Teachers can't touch students.
You look like Hitler. It's hideous!
Heil Hitler!
Read, since you're in shape.
I have one hair that's never grown.
It happens after 30.
For Turks, it's from 12,
and for Portuguese too.
Look, I have a tiny one.
Touch it.
It's cute.
And Hitler?
How can I explain?
It evokes too much.
He's tiny, causes trouble,
has a moustache and yells a lot.
A girl with a moustache?
Never seen an Indian girl?
The old Seagul Estate
has gone Hindu now.
This is bad upbringing.
My dad won't like that.
The others are waiting to work!
Go to the supervisor's office.
No.
I'll ask the principal to suspend you.
Heil Gquil!
Ich liebe dich, Mrs. Gquil!
3rd Reich suburbs!
Come in.
I have a big problem with Malik.
I want him suspended.
That's not how it works.
It requires a disciplinary hearing.
I know.
I'm requesting one.
Is suspending a student the solution?
That's resignation, not victory.
I just want to give my class!
I can't do that!
At the council,
you said not to give up on Malik.
I know, but I can't manage.
That's nothing new.
Shouting maintains group tension.
You should enter the room
and just wait for silence.
If you wait... Watch.
Watch.
If you really wait...
Then they'll see you.
And they'll fall silent.
Because your beauty will silence them.
My beauty?
Yes, your beauty.
But for your beauty to appear,
you mustn't shout.
No "Hey! Hey, you!"
That will clench your features.
And don't let fear tense your body.
Or you'll be a shrivelled little thing.
Shrivelled and hunchbacked.
I'll go and smoke outside.
Come on, you two, inside!
The teacher's here!
A discovery
A GENUINE discovery
What's wrong?
Lightning struck the school.
It scared me.
I set my students the task
of observing it tonight.
- Weird.
- Who?
The power keeps cutting off.
No, the moon. Look.
It's not dangerous, is it?
It won't catch fire?
- They'll put the tiles back?
- Like before.
I don't want it... Hold on.
Mrs. Gquil!
Mrs. Gquil, did you see last night?
Yes.
I was writing to the Board and...
the power went.
Maybe a message from nature.
What do you think?
I don't believe in nature's messages,
but in its laws.
I hope you're right.
I see signs everywhere.
See them and feel them.
For example,
I sense people's flaws right away.
I'd even say.
with technicians who strengthen
my faith in our capacities,
I sense people's vanity
like a smell.
Yes.
But you don't have that smell.
And it impresses me.
Mrs. Gquil!
My head is my work tool.
I have a problem.
Can I help you?
Mr. Ronaldo is on sick leave for a month.
Another breakdown.
He was due to welcome a trainee.
You're the only science teacher
without a trainee.
The inspector
didin't want you to have one.
I know.
I've made a few calls
and the trainee is yours.
Thank you. I've always wanted
to train someone.
But why are you whispering?
We're not alone.
Hello. This is Mr Fratoni.
He'll be my trainee for a while.
He's here to observe, but also to learn.
Trainee in love, virgin at 35!
He's redone more years than us!
Please give him a warm welcome
and show him your best side.
No best side,
only the wild side.
All poets at Rimbaud High.
Welcome to the Third World!
He's on a reintegration course!
With her, he's as good as dead.
Let's continue on heat and electricity.
Please...
Please, I'd like to continue
on heat and electricity,
What creates body heat?
Sex!
Not electricity.
The heat of the Shoah!
It's not funny.
I want to continue my class
on heat an electricity!
Practise makes perfect, they say.
I'm concentrating.
Everything ok?
Yes, up until this...
What's that smell?
Honey, you smell of...
You smell
- how can I put it? -
of trash.
What is it?
I felt sick for some reason.
I'm hungry.
Where is she?
Who?
That delicate woman I married.
Where...
Where is she?
Where...
Where is that delicate woman?
Where is the delicate woman you married?
Look!
What haste!
I don't know why.
I do.
140 euros, not bad.
You need to be modern,
so you stay clued in.
You move nonstop,
like youngsters.
Move or run, like you.
I've never had so much energy
in my whole career.
What career?
No more proofs, long live machines.
A concrete prototype.
Yes...
The concrete prototype.
I love the concrete prototype.
- Have you finished?
- Great idea, huh?
It's great!
- Isn't it?
- It is.
What's going on?
Did you touch something?
By the way, honey,
I have a trainee at last.
I hope he realizes how lucky he is.
We won't come back.
The hygiene's deplorable.
We're really in the suburbs here...
Honey, I think one of them spat at you.
It's like school.
My student Malik
would like to be like them.
Cynthia, Maria, go on.
The social question was:
"How does the new law
change prostitutes' lives?"
The scene is Bucharest.
In a kebab shop.
- Hi, Jelena.
- Hi, Ivana.
- It's been years.
- 15 at least.
- I didn't recognize you.
- Me neither.
What do you do now?
I'm a prostitute.
Really? Me too!
My tricks won't wear condoms.
Incredible, mine neither!
It's dangerous for STDs.
That's right. We can catch diseases.
It's dirty too.
We don't know
where our tricks come from.
True, prostitute isn't an ordinary job.
We choose our hours, we have it easy.
What does your daughter do?
She's a prostitute.
Mine too.
- We're so alike!
- Yes.
It's important.
It feels good.
Mrs. Gquil, why are you here?
It's for general classes.
My students can do it.
A challenge?
Very good, Mrs. Gquil.
But you forget what I just said.
Year projects are for general classes.
Technical students don't have...
- let's not discriminate -
They don't have the necessary skills.
Brainpower varies.
Some have intelligence, while others...
Too much is the enemy of good.
Neurones are a matter
of how many neurones...
Let's not mince words.
Some are made for it, others aren't!
Technical classes
don't do year projects.
The Ministry says so.
Arthur Rimbaud High
Youth centre
2000 Housing Estate
Too much work at school,
no work after you leave school
So kiss school goodbye
At night, we rule
Beyond control of school
We're tough
And teachers have enough
They won't halt my rule
Screw insertion
Exam results won't bring food in
We're tough in the dark
And every man knows the rules
You suck up to teachers
One by one
Damn poodle
Malik...
Those are dogs that bark every night
They're starving
They'll eat you up
One by one
Waste the fucker, man!
Go!
Blast the music,
screw those teachers
The street's our home
Hear the beat, not the class
Poodle, quit kissing ass
Slave in school, up at six
No bags, no studies
Step into the spotlight
Dance naked in the night
Those are dogs that bark every night
They're starving
They'll eat you up
One by one
OD on teachers
We're immature, so what?
That's all we are
Poodle, rat if you dare
It's no fairy tale
No teacher judges us
We waste them for one look
One way out, minimum wage
My high is my words, my paper, my pen
Those are dogs that bark every night
They're starving
They'll eat you up
One by one
We're determined, never finished
poodles stay when the bell rings
We're here
Teachers frek out in the night
School is death
Street is life
You're radiant this morning.
I slept like a log all night.
I can't remember a thing,
Just some restful warmth.
All right, let's move on.
I've been looking for a project
for us to work on.
It took a while to find,
but now I have it.
We'll build a Faraday cage.
It's our year project.
It'll be our secret.
I tell my parents everything.
They take an interest.
I revise with them.
What a poodle!
Young lady...
it's time you freed yourself.
Too much work at school,
no work after you leave school
So kiss school goodbye
Their stuff's different.
You forget yourself.
You travel.
You're far away.
Know the rest?
Sure, I heard them.
Sing!
Hold on, it goes...
At night, we rule
Beyond control of school
- More or less.
- Work.
Goodbye, ma'am.
Malik, follow me.
I work alone here.
I go back over things from lessons.
But at a much tougher level, of course.
Like electric and thermal potential?
You remember?
You looked like you didn't care.
Have you had that little handicap long?
Since birth.
Why are you so unpleasant in class?
We never touch the essential.
Look...
Euclid, Archimedes,
Descartes, Galileo,
Euler, Leibniz,
Gauss, Frege...
Their thinking made humanity progress.
Without him, no computers.
I could do without.
We had none before. What's so essential
about a computer?
It's a comfort.
What's the essential?
Knowing how to be happy.
I don't know what to say.
Talk to your philosophy teacher.
What does he know?
You can see he isn't happy.
You don't know his life.
You can teach things
without experiencing them.
How?
No idea.
Philosophy isn't the subject I teach.
But I'll try to show you,
what I know,
what school can teach you
and you'll see it matters.
One small example...
Take a line and two points.
Any line and any points.
Like this. Look.
First question...
The shortest path between points?
A straight line. I'm not dumb.
So now a second question...
The shortest path between points,
via the line?
The shortest path from here to here
via this.
I dunno.
Just go point to point.
Learn to think.
The detour forces you to think
to find the solution.
I'll help you.
Imagine the line is the Equator.
What is this point's opposite
in relation to the Equator,
as the South Pole is the North Pole's.
Simply switch this point
the other side.
I can do that easy.
I'll use my fingers
instead of a compass.
There.
We say you've reflected the point.
What's the shortest path from the start
to the point you just made?
A straight line again.
So now you can find the shortest path
from here to here via the line.
I still don't see.
You agree both points
are equidistant from the line
as one reflects the other.
And that the shortest path
from here to here is a straight line.
So you can conclude
that the shortest path via the line
is the one
that reflects your straight line.
Namely...
This path.
I can see your path
has the same length as my line.
It's the same to the line
then this point is at the same distance
as this one.
But is your path the shortest?
I sense it is,
but can't understand why.
Think.
No calculations or figures,
just think.
Remember,
my solution has the same length
as your line.
If another path were shorter
than my solution...
For instance...
This one...
Then its reflection,
would be shorter too
as reflection preserves length
and thus it would be shorter
than your line,
but you know that's impossible.
A straight line
is always the shortest path.
I understand! That's great!
Sum up what I just showed you.
If a path
is shorter than your solution,
its reflection would be shorter
than my line,
which is impossible.
Thanks for the lessons.
I'll surprise Marie
by playing my usual tune
with my left hand.
Work on it and you'll be fine.
Work. Work is the solution.
You know, Mr Gquil,
you're a kind husband.
You think so?
May I ask you something?
My wife has been
a little strange lately.
She's very cheery,
but it's hard do say? she's...
There are moments
when she seems miles away.
Should I worry about it?
I'm happy for her, but it troubles me.
As you're the same age,
maybe you could help me...
Is it linked to menopause?
Listen...
Maybe I shouldn't tell you...
But here goes.
I've seen Marie
go out several times lately.
Very late, at around 2 or 3 am.
She goes to that bench.
She sits there for a long time.
As if what?
As if she were meeting someone.
Meeting someone?
Who?
What's wrong?
Nothing.
"It's a cry
echoed by a thousand sentinels
An order relayed by a thousand
heralds
A beacon illuminating
a thousand citadels
A call to hunters
lost in the great woods.
Because it is truly, Lord,
the best testimony
that we could give our dignity
This ardent sob
that rolls from age to age
And comes to die
at the edge of your eternity"
The Beacons
Hear that?
Find your beacon.
A student attacked me
this morning.
What?
A student attacked me
this morning.
You'll see.
In ten years, each school
will require police presence.
We're here to teach, not dodge blows.
We begin your teacher's project today.
"Build a Faraday cage".
A Faraday cage
is protection against electric
and electromagnetic dangers.
It is earthed to maintain
a fixed potential.
It is therefore resistant
to electric fields.
There are three techniques
to build one...
He's talking Yid.
I don't get a word.
He's lost us!
We'll take the first option.
For that, we have grating, PVC...
He thinks we're Poles!
Shopping channel trainee!
Please...
Sir, can you fix my crapper?
Please be quiet!
Can we roast a Jihadi in the cage?
He's sweating!
I'd like...
His face is smooth like a baby's!
I'd like...
He's gonna cry.
I'd like...
He's angry.
What's wrong?
Do you need me?
I'll be back.
- Are you crying?
- No.
You're scared?
Yes.
The students don't understand me.
You were third in your year.
That's wonderful.
You just lack experience.
You need time to acquire that.
It took me 35 years.
I'm already 35.
I'm scared of becoming like you.
Someone weak.
Think of the scientists you admire.
"It's a cry
echoed by a thousand sentinels
An order relayed
by a thousand heralds
A beacon illuminating
a thousand citadels
A call to hunters
lost in the great woods..."
What's going on, Mrs. Gquil?
Poetry in the crapper now?
Are you some kind of lavatory beacon?
Crying, Mr Fratoni?
What a team.
A poet and a leaky tap.
I was right to put you together.
I always am.
What's a Faraday cage used for?
To control lightning.
Mrs. Gquil...
We know Malik uses your lab.
He has a key. It's not right.
What are you implying?
Nothing at all.
It's favouritism. It's not right.
It's a matter of principle.
You must treat us all alike.
No, nature didn't make him like you.
I've prepared you
a bench and instruments.
It's your corner.
Come when you want.
One last thing
Why do the 2000 Estate guys interest you?
They make me dream.
Why?
Cos they don't go to school.
I can rap too.
- I saw you before.
- Get lost.
I've written my lines, rehearsed...
I'll blow you away.
Shit...
Go on, pass!
Nice, long pass!
Yeah, Brazil!
Pass it!
Fucking pass it!
Who wants it?
Take it if you're a real man.
Karim Aoumechaoui was found dead
last night on the 2000 Estate.
That's all we know for now.
We'll have a minute of silence.
It's the first minute of silence
in my career.
I want it to be perfect.
A high school
is a sanctuary devoted to study,
respect
and tolerance
Today,
that sanctuary has been defiled.
Death has entered our premises.
The sanctuary is no more.
Society's violence is now everywhere.
Nothing will be like before.
I'll now hand over to Youssouf
who knew Karim well
and who'll talk about him
better than me
with younger words.
Youssouf...
I'm here to pay tribute
to Karim Awachi...
No, Awa... Aoumech... Awouichichi
No, Aouchi. Sorry.
I didn't know him well.
I know he was at this school.
Some guys must have known him better.
Those in his class, say.
But he never attended classes.
He'd dropped out.
He was pretty ordinary.
Find my words? Ok.
But say it right.
I think he lived on the 2000 Estate.
I haven't had time to ask.
Don't forget him.
I bet he liked music. Probably rap.
Saying words to a beat without singing.
Groups can do it.
They're young words,
as the principal says.
It says how we feel.
It's a form of expression.
No need to know music
or an instrument to do rap.
There'll be no class today.
You'll understand why.
You may go home.
I know you don't approve,
but a teacher must learn
to be silent at times.
We don't approve either.
What?
A little something for tomorrow.
It must've cost a fortune.
- For tomorrow?
- The inspector.
I don't want to charm,
I want to pass my inspection.
A young man died last night
in horrible circumstances
on the 2000 Estate.
Marie?
Out at night without Pierre?
Did you liked the red blouse?
I advised your husband.
He didn't know how to make you happy.
Your husband's sweet.
You must keep charming him.
Being married
doesn't kill off seduction.
You have to keep working on it,
learning more over time.
Marie, I don't know if you realize
how lucky you are.
Marie?
You won't answear?
It's an important day for me,
as you know.
Here we are...
I'd like the back row.
to move to the front and vice versa.
Oussama, Ousmane and Djourou,
the cage, please.
Remove the sheet.
Roxane...
Step inside it.
Ibrahima, charge the cage.
- What voltage?
- 100,000 volts.
Place your hand.
Place your hand.
Why isn't she dead?
The cage protected her.
How?
Ibrahima charged the cage,
giving it excess electrons.
That created an imbalance.
Every object seeks balance.
You arrived with an uncharged point.
It was in balance.
The excess electrons from the cage
were drawn to the point
causing the electric arc.
She didn't ask about the arc,
but why the cage protected her.
That's right.
Why isn't the inside electrified?
She'd be toast otherwise.
100,000 volts is a lot.
When you charge a body,
the electricity goes on the surface,
not inside it.
Why?
A charge is negative or positive.
Before charging, the cage was neutral.
with as much negative
as positive energy.
Then Ibrahima charged it with eletrons,
negative energy.
The same sign repels
so the added electrons repel each other
as far as possible.
So they stay on the cage's surface,
not inside.
Why?
The surface is the cage's extremity.
After, there's only air.
No material after the surface, stupid!
Why don't they go into the air?
Why don't the extra electrons vanish?
If they'd entered the air,
there'd have been no arc.
There'd have been nothing.
No excess electrons left.
I know. I saw the arc.
But why thay didn't go sooner?
I saw they didn't go.
I'm asking why.
Good, Belkacem.
The right questions
matter more than the right answers.
You made several mistakes, Malik,
but never mind.
I'll answer you, Belkacem.
The extra electrons
did not enter the air
because air is an insulator.
- Why?
- You know already!
Think!
Think hard. All of you together.
It isn't easy.
Can we have a clue?
No.
Maybe because of water.
Drops of water.
Or the wind.
The wind maybe.
I'm a bit surprised.
It's so different from my last vist.
You're like another person.
What has happened?
I don't know.
I don't want to pry.
There are some interesting ideas.
Like switching
the first and last rows.
Interesting,
but a bit of gimmick
What I really like is the way
you get students to ask questions
and move the lesson along
with your answers
and theirs answers to each other.
They're good...
those two Arabs
who intervene all the time.
You're lucky to have such students.
Is the Faraday cage a year project?
Yes, it's a year project.
I know this class
isn't allowed them but...
Why do you ignore instructions?
I had the impression...
the conviction even...
that such a project
was right for a difficult class.
That they need a challenge.
A wager, you mean?
Welcome to National Education,
Mrs. Gquil.
Thank you.
We won't meet again.
Five years from now,
the principal will do inspections.
No more inspectors.
That's the future!
Yes, indeed.
Sorry, I forgot you.
It's my last day.
Forgive me.
I was obsessed by the inspector.
I hope you've learned something with me.
Yes.
Thank you.
I hope you'll be happy teaching.
You deserve it.
Thank you.
Mrs. Hyde.
MRS. HYDE IS HERE
Surprise!
Mrs. Gquil...
we were waiting for you.
Who would have thought that Mrs. Gequil
would be where you are now?
That such an insignificant woman
would occupy the place you have now?
Teachers hate awards, but I dared.
Mrs. Gquil, I name you
supervisor of year projects.
A post created specially for you.
As a tribute to your fight,
albeit recent,
against discrimination
of technical classes.
I've asked Malik to prepare a few words.
There too,
who would have thought someone so...
problematic
would make such progress?
You did it together, hand in hand,
right, Malik?
Go ahead.
Mrs. Gquil?
"I'll always be here."
Let's go.
Realize what's happening to me?
What do you mean?
You worry too much.
Let's celebrate our inspection.
Screw that!
You never talk like that...
You don't see the evil around you!
Why did he burn?
Bringing your witch?
She's on fire and it's not your fault?
Burn me now!
You did nothing?
It's a traction bar.
Contract, decontract.
Come and fight!
You fled like fags when Karim burned!
I was there!
I stayed right here!
I'm still here! Fucking fight!
You call yourself men?
You fled like bitches! Faggots!
You let your brother burn!
Come and fight, you!
Fuck guys, she's back!
You mustn't come here.
Coming to Adele's?
No, it's ok.
Morgane wil be there.
I'll go home and work.
I want ro read.
You read?
I'm not allowed to?
I never said you couldn't.
Mr. Gquil...
What brings you?
- My wife.
- She wasn't here today.
You're a househusband, is that right?
Be proud of yourself.
Your wife seems happy.
Maybe a househusband
is the key to happiness.
I wish I was as brave as you.
You shatter the last taboo.
So enjoy your marriage.
Work doesn't suit me either.
You're a trailblazer.
Goodbye, Mr Gquil.
Pierre!
Where were you?
I followed you last night.
Marie...
Sleep!
Why do you do this?
Are you unhappy? Sick?
Vengeful? Frustrated? By what?
You're the woman of my life,
my dreams and my nightmares.
Help me do Gquil's exercise?
What portion of the rectangle
does the triangle occupy?
We mustn't measure it.
We have to think visually.
How's it done?
Draw a line from the top of the tnangle
to its base.
How does that help?
Look. You can see
it divides this part
into two equal halves.
The rest too.
It's divided in two equal halves
by this.
Unite the two halves
and you have the initial figure.
So the triangle occupies
half the rectangle.
The right answer is 50%.
How did you know to draw the line?
I thought.
Mrs. Gquil taught me how.
Solving a problem requires a detour.
The trick is finding
what makes it obvious.
What a poodle!
I don't care about Mrs. Gquil.
Right, you got me to do the exercise.
Think you are better than the others?
No. Why?
Mrs. Gquil...
What's going on?
It was you at night!
Something has happened.
I can tell.
Hello, Mrs. Gquil.
I told not to aim too high
in his studies,
to stay in his place.
Aiming too high is dangerous.
I bet it's because of money.
Malik thought studies
would ensure a good wage.
I told him over and over
that's not true.
I didn't study much
but I make good money.
Some people study a lot
and end up penniless on the dole.
It's a known fact.
Yes.
But your son is gifted.
See where all these experiments got him?
I say it's the devil.
Storms fascinate us.
They can be 10 times stronger
than the Hiroshima bomb.
The clash of hot and cold air
creates them.
A cumulonimbus forms,
a cloud up to 10 km high.
The air spins around
and its electric charge meets that
of the ground,
creating lightning.
Already,
in the first six months of 2009...
Is this the police station?
- I'll stay at my desk today.
- Why?
Keep away from me!
Ma'am?
Ma'am?
We had a question for you.
But we're afraid you'll laugh.
There's a woman of fire on the estate.
who apparently caused a death.
Is that possible?
Mrs. Gquil, we need you.
We know we'll hear the truth from you.
It's superstition.
A woman of fire makes no sense.
Mrs. Gquil doesn't exist.
Mrs. Gquil?
Mrs. Gquil doesn't exist?
Take a particle
whose movement accelerates.
Is its acceleration due more
to electricity than gravity?
We saw the answer last week.
It's simple. Remember why?
Electricity and gravity each contribute
separately
to the acceleration.
So we just need to find
each one's contribution
and to see
which one
is the greater.
Now let's try to do the same thing
in biology.
Is your size
due more to genes or environment?
Unlike with particle acceleration,
we don't know how to reply.
Why?
The result is not the sum
of separate results because
there is an interaction
between genes
and environment.
Interaction...
What does that mean?
That means
that the contribution
of each cause
is not independent of the other.
It is absurd to say
one metre of size is due to genes
and the rest to environment,
as if genes handled
the start of your growth
and environment the rest.
It's just as absurd
to ask what size your genes
would have made without environment
or vice versa.
For no growth of a living being
is possible without both at once.
To sum up,
there is interaction between two causes
when the combined effect
is not the sum of separate effects.
There is interaction
between genes and environment,
but there is no interaction
between electricity and gravitation.
I bet you use the word "interaction"
without knowing what it means.
So...
how do you evaluate
the share of genes and environment
in your growth.
To answer,
we must abandon
the examination of reality
to consider possibilities
not yet realized.
Two possibilities.
What size would you be
if you'd had the same genes
in a different environment?
What size would you be
if you'd had
other genes in the same environment?
Then,
we compare the two unreal sizes
and we have our answer.
If changing environment
varies size more than changing genes,
then environment
is a stronger cause than genes.
And vice versa.
But how do we attain
these possibilities?
For example,
how can we vary your environment?
There are so many possible environments
for someone like you.
Let's...
Let's return to electricity.
Let's take a tall tree.
A tree alone...
struck by lightning.
I was expecting you.
Goodbye, students.
A few months later,
in a new school.
A woman in my old school
taught me a lot of things.
Before, I didn't like school
and I didn't like her either.
Then things changed.
She taught me to take an interest
in thinking.
She taught me to have projects.
She taught me to be ambitious.
She taught me to find my beacon.
Thanks to her,
I hope to be a scientist, inch'Allah.
Her name was Mrs. Gquil.
She was also called Mrs. Hyde.
Hyde... Gquil...
You can't have two different surnames.
It's illegal.
Is she the right person?
Reread the task's title.
In a short account
illustrate Tolstoy's words,
"He felt the joy of the man
who discovers a new world,
unknown and beautiful."
Yes, she's the right person.