MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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The New Reality (1950)
Charles Leonard Harness
(click on names to see more mathematical fiction by the same author)
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Contributed by "William E. Emba"

The theme of this story concerns the idea that observation determines reality, and takes it to a more profound level than is usual in quantum mechanics. Along the way, the history of π and of four-dimensionality are discussed.

First appeared in THRILLING WONDER STORIES (1950), reprinted in several anthologies, including the author's THE ROSE.

Contributed by Georgene MacDonald

I am not qualified to comment on the math content - I accidentally fell into your site while looking for the author's name. This is a strange and fascinating place!

I read this story in the 1980s and still think about it from time to time. On first read I thought it was absolutely amazing and it stayed with me for a long time. I re-read it about 10 years later and it wasn't as good as I remembered it being. I am looking for it now to see what happens on third reading! So the Literary Quality score could change ...

(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 New Reality
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Technical Error by Arthur C. Clarke
  2. The Fourth-Dimensional Demonstrator by Murray Leinster
  3. The Cube Root of Conquest by Rog Phillips
  4. The Appendix and the Spectacles by Miles J. Breuer (M.D.)
  5. Into the Fourth by Adam Hull Shirk
  6. Gold Dust and Star Dust by Cyrill Wates
  7. A Modern Comedy of Science by Issac Nathanson
  8. The Mobius Trail by George Smith
  9. The Professor's Experiments - The Dimension of Time by Paul Bold
  10. Mathematician’s Heaven by Hunter Frances
Ratings for The New Reality:
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:
3/5 (2 votes)
..
Literary Quality:
5/5 (2 votes)
.

Categories:
GenreScience Fiction,
MotifHigher/Lower Dimensions,
Topic
MediumShort Stories,

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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)