MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Applied Scientific Demiurgy I - Entrance Examination Information Sheet (2019)
Mario Daniel Martín
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This document is designed to prepare students for an entrance exam into a university program on creating universes. For example:

(quoted from Applied Scientific Demiurgy I - Entrance Examination Information Sheet)

In this practical entrance examination, the basic abilities of creating potential biophilic multiverses will be tested, using the knowledge and skills mastered in previous courses or the trainee's practical experience. The main objective will be to create a big bang event with low initial entropy to favour the spontaneous emergence of carbon or silicon-based life within an average of 2.7182 timines. Other parameters to be optimised in the resulting toy sub-universe, such as the proton/neutron weight ratio, velocity of light in the void, (α, αg , αS , αW) vectors, and matter/antimatter asymmetry will also be examined. Additionally, feedback on the potential real-world applications of self-steering multiverses (or pertinent bubbles residing in a multiverse, or sub-universes) produced in the examination will be provided to successful applicants.

It is funny, but completely deadpan. The closest it gets to an actual joke is when it describes the utter failure of a universe that some past student made, and we are expected to recognize it as the universe that we happen to live in.

Personally, I do not consider this to be mathematical fiction. In fact, I don't think it is either fictional or mathematical. Of course, it isn't real or true, but it lacks plot and character, two features I generally look for in fiction. And, although numbers and mathematical terminology are used in it, they appear in the way that they are used by physicists and cosmologists. As I've explained before, it can sometimes be difficult to separate the fields of math and physics, since there certainly is a large area of overlap, but to me this is clearly on the physics side of that boundary. (Perhaps the closest to what I would consider "math" occurs in the section entitled "No ghost rule and no time-loops requirements".)

However, a frequent contributor to this site disagrees, and so I am including this work in my database along with his explanation of why he believes it should be here:

Contributed by Allan Goldberg

Even though the narrative does not employ characters per se, you can equate the author with a narrator of sorts. IMHO, this narrative, even though unconventional, fits my definition of a story, as it describes a conceivable setting in a future multiverse. Furthermore, the story presents potentially or absolutely real mathematical parameters relevant to geometry and mathematical physics using a gnomic deity in a scientific context.

The official citation for this work of pseudo-scholarship is: Martín, M. "Applied Scientific Demiurgy I — Entrance Examination Information Sheet," Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Volume 9 Issue 2 ( July 2019), pages 338-361.

More information about this work can be found at scholarship.claremont.edu.
(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 Applied Scientific Demiurgy I - Entrance Examination Information Sheet
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Unreasonable Effectiveness by Alex Kasman
  2. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
  3. Applied Mathematical Theology by Gregory Benford
  4. The Singularities by John Banville
  5. Problems for Self-Study by Charles Yu
  6. Perelman's Song by Tina Chang
  7. The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming
  8. Euler's Equation by Neil Hudson
  9. The Pexagon by D.J. Rozell
  10. Futurama (Episode: The Prisoner of Benda) by Ken Keeler (writer) / Stephen Sandoval (director)
Ratings for Applied Scientific Demiurgy I - Entrance Examination Information Sheet:
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:
1/5 (1 votes)
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Categories:
GenreHumorous, Science Fiction,
MotifReligion,
TopicMathematical Physics,
MediumAvailable Free Online,

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Exciting News: The 1,600th entry was recently added to this database of mathematical fiction! Also, for those of you interested in non-fictional math books let me (shamelessly) plug the recent release of the second edition of my soliton theory textbook.

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)