MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Brain Wave (1954)
Poul Anderson
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This debut novel from SF superstar Anderson explains that the human intelligence is far more powerful than we have thus far seen. In fact, once we escape from the effects of a force field that is limiting our mental abilities, our intelligence takes a "quantum leap". The only mathematical content is a paragraph detailing the thoughts of a student who independently derives the idea of calculus while working on his algebra homework.

Contributed by penny smith

Actually there is more math content here. There is mention of solving systems of nonlinear pde in one's head. There is mention of Maxwell's equations and a book by Coddington.

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Works Similar to Brain Wave
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
  2. Security by Poul Anderson
  3. Round the Moon by Jules Verne
  4. The God Patent by Ransom Stephens
  5. Habitus by James Flint
  6. The Hollow Man by Dan Simmons
  7. Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
  8. Ratner's Star by Don DeLillo
  9. The Woman Who Shook the World-Tree by Michael Swanwick
  10. On the Quantum Theoretic Implications of Newton's Alchemy by Alex Kasman
Ratings for Brain Wave:
RatingsHave you seen/read this work of mathematical fiction? Then click here to enter your own votes on its mathematical content and literary quality or send me comments to post on this Webpage.
Mathematical Content:
1/5 (2 votes)
..
Literary Quality:
3.5/5 (2 votes)
..

Categories:
GenreScience Fiction,
MotifGenius, Prodigies, Math Education,
TopicAnalysis/Calculus/Differential,
MediumNovels,

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(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)