MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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A Mathematical Mystery Tour: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of the Cosmos (1999)
A.K. Dewdney
(click on names to see more mathematical fiction by the same author)
Highly Rated!

A "chicken and the egg"-type question of interest to fans of mathematics is this: "Are mathematical results discovered or invented?" To answer this question, A.K. Dewdney takes a "mathematical" tour through history, talking to characters who may be able to help solve this "mystery".
Note that this book was reviewed in the AMS Notices.

Contributed by Philip Ansbaugh

"I found this book very hard to put down. I am by no means a mathematician yet I found it higly informative. I think it should be required reading for all begginning math classes. The problem I had in math (in school) was the inability of my teachers to explain why we needed to know algebra , calc. etc."

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(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 A Mathematical Mystery Tour: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of the Cosmos
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. A Certain Ambiguity: A Mathematical Novel by Gaurav Suri / Hartosh Singh Bal
  2. Shakespeare Predicted it All by Dietmar Dath
  3. The Parrot's Theorem by Denis Guedj
  4. Pythagorean Crimes by Tefcros Michaelides
  5. Conned Again, Watson! Cautionary Tales of Logic, Math and Probability by Colin Bruce
  6. The Shackles of Conviction by James R. Meyer
  7. Ramanujan’s Miracles – A Drama To Demystify Mathematics by R.N. Kapur
  8. Sophie's Diary by Dora Musielak
  9. Pythagoras' Revenge: A Mathematical Mystery by Arturo Sangalli
  10. Zéro, ou les Cinq vies d'Aemer by Denis Guedj
Ratings for A Mathematical Mystery Tour: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of the Cosmos:
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:
3.67/5 (6 votes)
..
Literary Quality:
4.5/5 (6 votes)
..

Categories:
GenreHistorical Fiction, Didactic,
Motif
TopicReal Mathematics, Logic/Set Theory,
Medium

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(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)