a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)
a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)
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| Note: This work of mathematical fiction is recommended by Alex for literati. |
| A miner who spends his spare time secretly working on geometry problems arouses the suspicions of his God fearing wife when she comes upon his cryptic writings and follows him to a meeting with a visiting mathematician in this sweet, romantic story. Of course, anyone who knows a bit of the history of geometry will not be surprised when, at the end, the miner receives disappointing news from the mathematician. He believes that he has worked out a construction with compass and straightedge for creating a square with the same area as a given circle. However, since 1882 when Lindemann proved that the number pi is trancendental, it is well known that such a construction is impossible. (See MathWorld for more info.)
This short story is one of three "mathematical" stories by Iagnemma which appear in his collection On the Nature of Human Romantic Interaction: Stories". Iagnemma recently received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from MIT where he now works as a research scientist. In addition, his short stories have been published in many prestitigious literary magazines and have won him numerous prizes. |
| 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.) |
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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)
