MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Getting the Combination (1982)
Isaac Asimov
(click on names to see more mathematical fiction by the same author)
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Contributed by "William E. Emba"

Griswold figures out a combination by correctly guessing the next number in a sequence.

AKA "Playing the Numbers". Published originally in the June 1982 issue of Gallery.

More information about this work can be found at www.amazon.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 Getting the Combination
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Mathematician Proof by Ralph Ellison de Castro
  2. Child's Play by Isaac Asimov
  3. 1 to 999 by Isaac Asimov
  4. Sixty Million Trillion Combinations by Isaac Asimov
  5. Go, Little Book by Isaac Asimov
  6. Ten by Isaac Asimov
  7. The Ultimate Crime by Isaac Asimov
  8. Mirror Image by Isaac Asimov
  9. One Under the Eight by Catherine Aird
  10. Mathematical Doom by Paul Ernst
Ratings for Getting the Combination:
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:
2/5 (1 votes)
..
Literary Quality:
2/5 (1 votes)
..

Categories:
GenreMystery,
Motif
TopicAlgebra/Arithmetic/Number Theory,
MediumShort Stories,

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Where are the new works of mathematical fiction?: As you can see from this chronological listing, this database includes many works of mathematical fiction for each year from 1990 to 2025. Strangely, only two are listed for 2026, so far. Either less mathematical fiction is being published than in previous years or I'm just having more trouble finding it. If you know of any works of fiction that should be added to this list, especially recently published ones, please let me know. (Keep in mind that I do not include self-published works or children's fiction that just covers elementary mathematical concepts.) Thanks!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)