This play, currently in production at New York's Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater, tells the story of a romance between a biology graduate student and a computer science graduate student. Having read a few reviews, I get the feeling that there is enough math in the play for it to be listed on this database. (For instance, I know there is a discussion of the Travelling Salesman Problem, and so I'm guessing the title has to do with NP-completeness?)
If anyone has seen or read the play and can comment in greater detail on the mathematical content, it would be most appreciated.
Contributed by
Anonymous
Math is discussed in at least 50% of the text. In addition, the math establishes the central metaphor in the play. The content is clearly well-researched and accurate. The author makes an effort to explain mathematical concepts rather than dumb them down for the audience.
|
Thank you, anonymous contributor, for this post. It would seem to confirm that the play is indeed sufficiently mathematical to be listed on this Website. However, I still do not know the specifics. What is the central metaphor? What sort of mathematics appears? (Also, I am still a little concerned that the anonymous poster and I might not agree on the distinction between computer science and mathematics. Though CS did grow out of math in the mid-Twentieth Century, it is really a distinct discipline now. Could some of that 50% be computer science and not mathematics per se?)
I look forward to more posts with further clarification...and of course to someday having the chance to see or read the play myself.
|