Uncertainty Principle (Numbers)

"Uncertainty Principle" is the second episode of the first season of the American television series Numb3rs. Based on a real bank robbery case, the episode features a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) math consultant's prediction being incomplete after FBI agents find themselves in an unexpected shootout with suspected bank robbers. Series writers Cheryl Heuton and Nicolas Falacci wanted to explore the emotional effects of the case on Dr. Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz). For the mathematics used in the case, they included several mathematical and physics concepts, such as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, P versus NP problem, and Minesweeper game.

The episode was directed by Davis Guggenheim and filmed in Los Angeles, California. Due to the type of scenes in the episode, filming took over nine days. During production, CBS requested that the producers tone down slightly the level of violence in the opening action sequence and that one additional narrative element involving FBI Agent David Sinclair be removed for the sake of clarity.

After being moved from fourth to second, "Uncertainty Principle" first aired in the United States on January 28, 2005. Critics gave the episode mixed reviews. One mathematician disliked the focus on the emotional reaction while critics liked the episode.