a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)
a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)
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| In this short story, a group of young people who cannot afford expensive AI implants try to figure out how they will compete in the marketplace with those who can. Their plan involves getting those richer students (and their artificially intelligent prostheses) to challenge them in an unsual sort of academic contest in which two teams of participants pose questions to each other.
The questions in the story are all mathematical in nature, and their solutions are discussed in some detail. Those questions and the discussions about their solutions comprise all of the mathematical content. Without them, I would not consider this to be mathematical fiction. The questions in the contests from this story are really very interesting, unlike those I am familiar with from the mathematical contests I have seen. For example:
and
There are other works of fiction about mathematical contests. This one is unusual not only in that the questions seem particularly creative and challenging but also because of the plot involving artificial intelligence and how it might affect employment in the future, a very timely and important topic at the moment. I was disappointed, though, that there is no synergy between the mathematical questions and that plot. Those interested in the story can basically ignore the questions if they are not interested in them. It felt to me as if the questions were just "gratuitous mathematics", thrown into the story for those who want to see a battle of mathematical ability just as many people seem to enjoy gratuitous violence in their fiction. This story appeared in the October 2025 issue of Clarkesworld. |
| More information about this work can be found at clarkesworldmagazine.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.) |
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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)
