MathFiction: Uncle Georg's Attic (Ben Schumacher)

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Uncle Georg's Attic (2002)

Ben Schumacher
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This short story appeared in the September 2002 issue of "Math Horizons", published by the Mathematical Association of America. In it, some kids look through an attic containing lots of stuff belonging to their "crazy Great-Uncle Georg", who was apparently Georg Cantor. There they find fantastical items of mathematical interest like a countably infinite deck of cards (which can be split into two decks of the same size, of course), a mechanical "Zeno Game" in which each turn of a small crank brings Achilles closer to the turtle even though he never seems to catch up, an album of all possible lists, and a Ouija board that always lies.

(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 Uncle Georg's Attic

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

Hilbert's Hotel by Ian Stewart
The Strange Case of Mr. Jean D. by Joao Filipe Queiro
Harvey Plotter and the Circle of Irrationality by Nathan Carter / Dan Kalman
The Legend of Howard Thrush by Alex Kasman
The Gangs of New Math by Robert W. Vallin
Cardano and the Case of the Cubic by Jeff Adams
A Deadly Medley of Smedley by Feargus Gwynplaine MacIntyre
Izzy at the Lucky Three by Eliot Fintushel
The Case of the Murdered Mathematician by Julia Barnes / Kathy Ivey
Math Curse by Jon Scieszka / Lane Smith (illustrator)

Ratings for Uncle Georg's Attic:

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:
3/5 (1 votes)

Literary Quality:
2/5 (1 votes)

Categories:

Genre	Humorous, Didactic,
Motif	Mental Illness,
Topic	Infinity, Logic/Set Theory,
Medium	Short 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)