MathFiction: Tangents (Greg Bear)

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Tangents (1986)

Greg Bear
(click on names to see more mathematical fiction by the same author)
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There are far too many mathematical stories about finding a way to travel into "other dimensions". Still, this one is one of my favorites. Not only do we see a clever approach to this "old" storyline, we also get to see a happy ending to a famous sad story. (The main character is obviously based on Alan Turing, but in this incarnation he does not suffer the same fate which he unfortunately suffered in reality.)
First published in Omni magazine in 1986. Reprinted in Mathenauts.

Contributed by Aaron

It's weird how similar this is to Oracle: both stories about alternate universes in which an Alan Turing like character lives by guys named Greg.

More information about this work can be found at another page on this Website.
(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 Tangents

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

Star, Bright by Mark Clifton
Oracle by Greg Egan
Mimsy Were the Borogoves by Lewis Padgett (aka Henry Kuttner and Catherine L. Moore)
Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
Emmy's Time by Anthony Bonato
Another New Math by Alex Kasman
Ripples in the Dirac Sea by Geoffrey A. Landis
Mozart on Morphine by Gregory Benford
A Rite of Spring by Fritz Leiber
The Eighth Room by Stephen Baxter

Ratings for Tangents:

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:
4/5 (2 votes)

Literary Quality:
4/5 (2 votes)

Categories:

Genre	Science Fiction,
Motif	Prodigies, Higher/Lower Dimensions, Real Mathematicians, Alan Turing,
Topic
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)