MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Mangum, P.I. (2004)
Colin Adams
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A parody of the hard-boiled private detective genre in which ``P.I.'' stands for ``Principal Investigator'', a phrase familiar to anyone who has applied for a research grant. In this hilarious story, a math postdoc is conned by a famous researcher into helping him with his research, but cleverly gets his revenge in the end.

Originally appeared in Mathematical Intelligencer, Vol. 26, No. 4, 22-24 (2004) and then reprinted in the collection Riot at the Calc Exam....

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Works Similar to Mangum, P.I.
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. A Killer Theorem by Colin Adams
  2. Cardano and the Case of the Cubic by Jeff Adams
  3. The Fractal Murders by Mark Cohen
  4. Monster by Alex Kasman
  5. Journey to the Center of Mathematics by Colin Adams
  6. After Math by Miriam Webster
  7. The Visiting Professor by Robert Littell
  8. Riot at the Calc Exam and Other Mathematically Bent Stories by Colin Adams
  9. Into Thin Air by Colin Adams
  10. Mathematically Bent by Colin Adams
Ratings for Mangum, P.I.:
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:
5/5 (2 votes)
.
Literary Quality:
3.5/5 (2 votes)
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Categories:
GenreMystery, Humorous,
MotifAcademia, Proving Theorems,
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)