a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)
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There is a famous example of probability which (in one of its many
forms) states that six chimpanzees randomly typing at six typewriters
would eventually reproduce all of the books in the British museum. In
this story, six chimps begin doing exactly that -- without producing
any errors or gibberish. The mathematician feels obligated to be a
vigilante and defend the laws of probability (which he says take
everything into account...including his own actions) by killing the
apes before they get too far. Reprinted in Fantasia Mathematica.
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More information about this work can be found at another page on this Website. |
(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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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)