MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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A Very Peculiar Practice (1986)
Andrew Davies
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In this television series about a medical doctor at a British university, a recurring character during the first season was a mathematician who was the doctor's roommate, Chen. Their "flat" was therefore filled with equations scribbled on blackboards, which were occasionally the subject of conversation. In one episode, the "maths" becomes more relevant when Chen's research is stolen by other mathematicians, but it generally had nothing to do with the plot.

[BTW Why does Peter Davison so frequently play "doctors" of some sort or other?!? From Doctor Who to the veterinarian in All Creatures...to the main role in this one, it almost seems as if he's been typecast.]

More information about this work can be found at www.imdb.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 A Very Peculiar Practice
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel by Amy Sherman-Palladino / Daniel Palladino
  2. Thinking of Leaving Your Husband? by Charlotte Cory
  3. Doctor Who (Episode: Logopolis) by Christopher Bidmead
  4. The Favor by Donald Petrie (Director) / Sara Parriott (Writer) / Josann McGibbon (Writer)
  5. Mathematical R & D by Paul J. Nahin
  6. The Rubbish Researchers Puzzle by Michael W. Lucht
  7. Problems for Self-Study by Charles Yu
  8. Mathematically Bent by Colin Adams
  9. Goldman's Theorem by R.J. Stern
  10. The Sinister Researches of C.P. Ransom by Homer C. Nearing Jr.
Ratings for A Very Peculiar Practice:
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 (1 votes)
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Literary Quality:
3/5 (1 votes)
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Categories:
GenreHumorous,
MotifAcademia,
Topic
MediumTelevision Series or Episode,

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Exciting News: The total number of works of mathematical fiction listed in this database recently reached a milestone. The 1,500th entry is The Man of Forty Crowns by Voltaire. Thanks to Vijay Fafat for writing the summary of that work (and so many others). I am also grateful to everyone who has contributed to this website. Heck, I'm grateful to everyone who visited the site. Thank you!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)