MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Solar Lottery (1955)
Philip K. Dick
(click on names to see more mathematical fiction by the same author)
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Contributed by "William E. Emba"

In the future, the "Minimax Game" runs society. New mind technologies are used to take randomization stategies to previously unsuspected heights, in order to get an edge in the Game.

Explicit mentions are made of game theory and von Neumann. Dick views game theory (and von Neumann!) as inherently ominous and dangerous, going so far as to include a preliminary note to the reader citing von Neumann's appointment to the Atomic Energy Commission as cause for alarm. The modern reader may want to laugh this off as a bizarre strand of Dick's paranoia, but at the time von Neumann was urging, based on 2x2 games, a first strike against the Soviets.

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 Solar Lottery
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
  2. Nymphomation by Jeff Noon
  3. In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato
  4. Statistician's Day by James Blish
  5. The Indefatigable Frog by Philip K. Dick
  6. The Pre-Persons by Philip K. Dick
  7. Eversion by Alastair Reynolds
  8. The Singularities by John Banville
  9. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  10. Light by M. John Harrison
Ratings for Solar Lottery:
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 (2 votes)
..
Literary Quality:
5/5 (2 votes)
.

Categories:
GenreScience Fiction,
MotifMath as Cold/Dry/Useless,
Topic
MediumNovels,

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Exciting News: The 1,600th entry was recently added to this database of mathematical fiction! Also, for those of you interested in non-fictional math books let me (shamelessly) plug the recent release of the second edition of my soliton theory textbook.

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)