The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets
Published on 25. September 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-4088-4281-2 (ISBN)
Description
From bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem, a must-have for number lovers and Simpsons fans
'An entertaining picture of the insanely high-minded nature of the Simpsons' writers' Sunday Times
'A valuable, entertaining book that, above all, celebrates a supremely funny, sophisticated show' Financial Times
You may have watched hundreds of episodes of The Simpsons (and its sister show Futurama) without ever realising that they contain enough maths to form an entire university course.
In The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets, Simon Singh explains how the brilliant writers, some of the mathematicians, have smuggled in mathematical jokes throughout the cartoon's twenty-five year history, exploring everything from to Mersenne primes, from Euler's equation to the unsolved riddle of P vs. NP, from perfect numbers to narcissistic numbers, and much more.
With wit, clarity and a true fan's zeal, Singh analyses such memorable episodes as 'Bart the Genius' and 'Homer (3)' to offer an entirely new insight into the most successful show in television history.
'An entertaining picture of the insanely high-minded nature of the Simpsons' writers' Sunday Times
'A valuable, entertaining book that, above all, celebrates a supremely funny, sophisticated show' Financial Times
You may have watched hundreds of episodes of The Simpsons (and its sister show Futurama) without ever realising that they contain enough maths to form an entire university course.
In The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets, Simon Singh explains how the brilliant writers, some of the mathematicians, have smuggled in mathematical jokes throughout the cartoon's twenty-five year history, exploring everything from to Mersenne primes, from Euler's equation to the unsolved riddle of P vs. NP, from perfect numbers to narcissistic numbers, and much more.
With wit, clarity and a true fan's zeal, Singh analyses such memorable episodes as 'Bart the Genius' and 'Homer (3)' to offer an entirely new insight into the most successful show in television history.
Reviews / Votes
Singh blows the lid off a decades-long conspiracy to secretly educate cartoon viewers -- David X Cohen, writer for <i>The Simpsons</i> and <i>Futurama</i> An entertaining picture of the insanely high-minded nature of the Simpsons' writers * Sunday Times * Singh shows a knack for gliding seamlessly between abstract mathematical concepts and every day life, always seeking out the most engaging, human and topical examples. Singh's clean prose, detailed research and enthusiasm for the world of numbers are likely to captivate even those for whom maths normally creates feelings of anxiety rather than mirth * The Times * A valuable, entertaining book that, above all, celebrates a supremely funny, sophisticated show * Financial Times * What have Homer and Bart got to do with Euler's equation, the googolplex or the topology of doughnuts? ... Simon Singh has fun weaving great mathematics stories around our favourite TV characters * New Scientist * Singh shows just how addictive maths can be * BBC Focus *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
20 b/w throughout
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
227 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-4281-2 (9781408842812)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Simon Singh
The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets
E-Book
10/2013
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€12.49
Available for download
Previous edition
Simon Singh
The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets
Book
10/2013
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€36.08
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Simon Singh received his PhD in particle physics from the University of Cambridge. A former BBC producer and BAFTA Award-winning documentary director, he is the author of the bestselling Fermat's Last Theorem. His bestseller The Code Book was the basis for the Channel 4 series The Science of Secrecy and his third book, Big Bang, was also a bestseller. He lives in London.