MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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The Star Dummy (1952)
Anthony Boucher
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Contributed by Gerry Myerson

I learned duodecimal (and the whole concept of number bases) from "The Star Dummy," by Boucher, in Conklin's Omnibus of Science Fiction. The teddybear-shaped six- fingered alien was trying to communicate with the koalas in the zoo until an open-minded human showed up and the two traded written numbers.

Originally published in Fantastic in 1952.

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 The Star Dummy
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. In the River by Justin Stanchfield
  2. Report from the Ambassador to Cida-2 by Clifton Cunningham
  3. The Heroic Adventures of Hercules Amsterdam by Melissa Glenn Haber
  4. Tiger by the Tail by A.G. Nourse
  5. Old Faithful by Raymond Z. Gallun
  6. The Second Moon by Russell R. Winterbotham
  7. The Feeling of Power by Isaac Asimov
  8. Diabologic by Eric Frank Russell
  9. Mathematica by John Russell Fearn
  10. The Pi Man by Alfred Bester
Ratings for The Star Dummy:
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Categories:
GenreScience Fiction,
MotifAliens,
TopicAlgebra/Arithmetic/Number Theory,
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)