a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)
a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)
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| A young mathematician asks for the hand of a senior mathematician's beautiful (and clever) daughter, but is refused on the grounds that his inability to support her financially was a mathematical certainty. His only hope is to demonstrate to the older gentleman contrary to his claims regarding the certainty of math, that "figures lie". And, that he does in a clever way, by showing that even though the computations in the father's astronomical tables are mathematically accurate, in at least one instance they fail to describe the reality of the universe (as understood in the best theories of the time).
Thanks to Vijay Fafat for pointing out this story, originally published in Waterloo's book "The Wolf's Long Howl", now available for free at Google Books. |
| More information about this work can be found at books.google.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.) |
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Your Help Needed: Some site visitors remember reading works of mathematical fiction that neither they nor I can identify. It is time to crowdsource this problem and ask for your help! You would help a neighbor find a missing pet...can't you also help a fellow site visitor find some missing works of mathematical fiction? Please take a look and let us know if you have seen these missing stories anywhere!.
(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)
