MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Conversations on Mathematics with a Visitor from Outer Space (1998)
David Ruelle
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Note: This work of mathematical fiction is recommended by Alex for math majors, math grad students (and maybe even math professors) and hardcore fans of science fiction.

As the title implies, this is a description of (presumably fictional) discussions that the author had with an alien about mathematics and, in particular, the way that Earth mathematics differs from the more advanced alien mathematics. The famous mathematical physicist David Ruelle wrote this piece with the apparent goal of demonstrating the extent to which peculiarities of the human mind have shaped our view of mathematics. It can be found both on the mp_arc archive and in the book Mathematics: Frontiers and Perspectives which was published as part of "World Mathematics Year 2000".

Contributed by Charles R Greathouse IV

This is certainly far more mathematical than even most mathematical fiction: mathematics is the subject matter rather than window-dressing. It concerns in particular mathematical practice rather than what axioms might be supposed or what things might be judged of interest, so insights 'from outside' of one type only. It is short, well-written, and interesting in its own peculiar way.

More information about this work can be found at www.ma.utexas.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 Conversations on Mathematics with a Visitor from Outer Space
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Report from the Ambassador to Cida-2 by Clifton Cunningham
  2. Dude, can you count? by Christian Constanda
  3. Pop Quiz by Alex Kasman
  4. Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang
  5. Q.E.D. by Bruce Stanley Burdick
  6. Incandescence by Greg Egan
  7. Let's Consider Two Spherical Chickens by Tommaso Bolognesi
  8. In the River by Justin Stanchfield
  9. Signal to Noise by Eric S. Nylund
  10. The Flight of the Dragonfly (aka Rocheworld) by Robert L. Forward
Ratings for Conversations on Mathematics with a Visitor from Outer Space:
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:
4.67/5 (3 votes)
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Literary Quality:
2/5 (2 votes)
..

Categories:
GenreScience Fiction, Didactic,
MotifAliens,
TopicReal Mathematics,
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)