MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Sylvie and Bruno Concluded (1893)
Lewis Carroll
(click on names to see more mathematical fiction by the same author)
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The sequel to his somewhat popular book "Sylvie and Bruno" never achieved the popularity of the original. This lack of success may or may not be related to Chapter VII (entitled "Mein Herr") of the book in which (while sharing some tea) the characters discuss the production of a projective plane by gluing the boundary of a disk to the boundary of a Mobius strip.

Contributed by Moses Klein, University of Wisconsin

"The entertaining Klein bottle passage certainly isn't the only mathematical chapter in the book. There's also one exchange in which Bruno estimates a crowd of 1004 ("I'm sure about the four; it's the thousand I'm not sure about") which I occasionally cite to explain significant digits. This book is Lewis Carroll at his finest: subtly sophisticated, playfully presented, but undeservingly underappreciated."

(Thanks to Victor Jiminez Lopez for pointing out an error on this page that I have now hopefully successfully corrected and I will not repeat in order to avoid further embarrassing myself.)

More information about this work can be found at www.hoboes.com.
(Note: This is just one work of mathematical fiction from the list. To see the entire list or to see more works of mathematical fiction, return to the Homepage.)

Works Similar to Sylvie and Bruno Concluded
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. A Tangled Tale by Lewis Carroll
  2. The Man Who Counted : A Collection of Mathematical Adventures by Malba Tahan
  3. Number 9: The Search for the Sigma Code by Cecil Balmond
  4. Sticks by Joan Bauer
  5. Math Patrol by TV Ontario
  6. Jayden's Rescue by Vladimir Tumanov
  7. Math Curse by Jon Scieszka / Lane Smith (illustrator)
  8. The Number Devil (Der Zahlenteufel) by Hans Magnus Enzenberger
  9. Sophie's Diary by Dora Musielak
  10. Mathmakers by TV Ontario
Ratings for Sylvie and Bruno Concluded:
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:
2.66/5 (3 votes)
..
Literary Quality:
5/5 (3 votes)
.

Categories:
GenreDidactic, Children's Literature,
MotifMobius Strip/Nonorientability,
TopicGeometry/Topology/Trigonometry,
MediumNovels, Available Free Online,

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(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)