MathFiction: Squate (Tom Blackford)

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Squate (2022)

Tom Blackford
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In this cute story, a thirteen year old girl becomes good friends with the square root of eight. From "Squate", she learns not only facts about math but also things about other people who are working with him. Consequently, she is able to surprise her math teacher by saying things like:

(quoted from Squate)

They might not be regular integers, but they’re certainly algebraic integers. You know what algebraic integers are, right, Mr. Henderson? Roots of a monic polynomial with integer coefficients?

and she also knows when classmates are cheating on their homework...or when teachers are cheating on their spouses.

Speaking of spouses, she also learns things about the lives of the numbers themselves. For example:

(quoted from Squate)

Positive square roots are male, negative square roots are female. Like Squate’s wife, Minus Squate. It’s sexist, I know. But that’s just how it is in Quadworld, where they live. Only they don’t use terms like ‘husband’ or ‘wife’ there. They’re called . . . conjugates, or something.

The author is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Philosophy at Western Illinois University. When he sent me an early draft of the story, I suggested that he consider sending it to The Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, where it was eventually published.

Citation: Tom Blackford, "Squate," Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Volume 12 Issue 2 (July 2022), pages 563-578. Available at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol12/iss2/38

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 Squate

According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:

Numberland by George Weinberg
The Number Devil [Der Zahlenteufel] by Hans Magnus Enzensberger
The Mathematician's Nightmare: The Vision of Professor Squarepunt by Bertrand Russell
The Symbol of Darkness: A Tale of an Unknown Quantity by Anonymous
Futurama (Episode: The Numberland Gap) by Ken Walsh (writer) / Andrew Han (director)
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster / Jules Feiffer (Illustrator)
Saint Joan of New York: A Novel About God and String Theory by Mark Alpert
A non-Euclidean story or: how to persist when your geometry doesn’t by Rami Luisto
Lost by Tamora Pierce
Lost in the Math Museum by Colin Adams

Ratings for Squate:

Ratings

Have 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 (1 votes)

Literary Quality:
3/5 (1 votes)

Categories:

Genre	Fantasy,
Motif	Prodigies, Female Mathematicians,
Topic	Algebra/Arithmetic/Number Theory, Real Mathematics,
Medium	Available Free Online,

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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)