Where’s the machine?
Ruth Any day now, Mr. Harrison.
Any day now. What’s it called? The initials...the letters?
Ruth IBM.
Paul Stafford International business machine.
Space is business?! I need a mathematician.
Played by Jim Parsons 
Hidden Figures (2016) · 20 quotes
Hidden Figures (2016) · 20 quotes
5th most-quoted character in Hidden Figures (2016): in 3 of its 20 quotes
Most scenes with: Al Harrison (3), Katherine Johnson (2)
Scenes with Paul Stafford
3 scenes Ruth Ruth Paul Stafford Paul Stafford How did you know the Redstone couldn't support orbital flight? That's classified information; it's top secret.
Well, it's no secret why the Redstone tests keep failing. It's fine for sub-orbital flight, but it can't handle the weight of the capsule and push it into space. Numbers don't lie.
[reading the censored test results documents]
And you figured all that out with this? Half of that is redacted.
Well, what's there tells a story if you read between the lines. The distance from launch to orbit, we know. Redstone mass, we know. Mercury capsule weight, we know. And the speeds are there, and the data.
You did the math.
Yes, sir. I look beyond.
And how did you know about the Atlas rocket? That's not math. That data's not here. Like he said, it's classified.
...I held it up to the light.
You held it up to the light?
Yes, sir.
[Harrison takes one of the censored documents and holds it up to the floresent light to read]
...Well, there it is. "Atlas". What's your name?
Katherine Gobal.
Are you a spy, Katherine?
Am I what?
I said, are you a Russian spy?
No, sir. I'm not Russian.
Ruth She's not Russian, sir.
Alright, then, we have nothing to lose, here. [to Stafford] Give her everything she needs to work on Shepherd's trajectories, without redaction. Are we clear on that?
Paul Stafford Are we sure about this?
What's the issue, Paul? You heard her, she's not a spy.
Paul Stafford I–I just don't think it's a good idea.
You know what I think is a good idea? Darker ink. I think darker ink is a good idea. Ruth, could you pass that along?
Ruth Yes, sir.
Thank you, Katherine.
Thank you, sir. [leaves with Ruth]
The problem is when the capsule moves from an elliptical orbit to a parabolic orbit; There's no mathematical formula for that. 'Cause we can calculate launch and landing, but without this conversion, the capsule stays in orbit. We can't bring it back home.
...Maybe we've been thinking about this all wrong.
Paul Stafford And how's that?
Maybe it's not new math at all.
It could be old math: something that looks at the problem numerically and not theoretically. Math is always dependable.
For you, it is.
Paul Stafford Euler's Method?
Yes.
Paul Stafford But that's ancient.
But it works. It works numerically.
