MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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The Star Dummy (1952)
Anthony Boucher
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Contributed by Gerry Myerson

I learned duodecimal (and the whole concept of number bases) from "The Star Dummy," by Boucher, in Conklin's Omnibus of Science Fiction. The teddybear-shaped six- fingered alien was trying to communicate with the koalas in the zoo until an open-minded human showed up and the two traded written numbers.

Originally published in Fantastic in 1952.

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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 The Star Dummy
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. In the River by Justin Stanchfield
  2. Report from the Ambassador to Cida-2 by Clifton Cunningham
  3. The Heroic Adventures of Hercules Amsterdam by Melissa Glenn Haber
  4. Mathematica Plus by John Russell Fearn
  5. The Feeling of Power by Isaac Asimov
  6. The Pi Man by Alfred Bester
  7. Old Faithful by Raymond Z. Gallun
  8. Mathematica by John Russell Fearn
  9. Into the Comet by Arthur C. Clarke
  10. The Day the Earth Stood Still by Robert Wise (director) / Harry Bates (story) / Edmund H. North
Ratings for The Star Dummy:
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Categories:
GenreScience Fiction,
MotifAliens,
TopicAlgebra/Arithmetic/Number Theory,
MediumShort Stories,

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(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)