Mathematics in Popular Culture

Essays on Appearances in Film, Fiction, Games, Television and Other Media

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Edited by Jessica K. Sklar and Elizabeth S. Sklar

Type

Essays

Subject

General

Keywords

sciences, representation

Publishing date

2012

Publisher

McFarland & Co

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 353 pages
7 x 10 inches (18 x 25.5 cm)

ISBN

978-0-7864-4978-1

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Book Presentation:
Mathematics has maintained a surprising presence in popular media for over a century. In recent years, the movies Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, and Stand and Deliver, the stage plays Breaking the Code and Proof, the novella Flatland and the hugely successful television crime series NUMB3RS all weave mathematics prominently into their storylines. Less obvious but pivotal references to the subject appear in the blockbuster TV show Lost, the cult movie The Princess Bride, and even Tolstoy’s War and Peace. In this collection of new essays, contributors consider the role of math in everything from films, baseball, crossword puzzles, fantasy role-playing games, and television shows to science fiction tales, award-winning plays and classic works of literature. Revealing the broad range of intersections between mathematics and mainstream culture, this collection demonstrates that even “mass entertainment” can have a hidden depth.

About the authors:
Jessica K. Sklar, an associate professor of mathematics at Pacific Lutheran University, has published in the field of noncommutative ring theory and in the more readily accessible field of recreational mathematics.
Elizabeth S. Sklar, a professor emerita at Wayne State University, specializes in Old and Middle English language and literature. She has published extensively in the fields of modern and medieval Arthurian legend.

Press Reviews:
"a fun read, accessible to all…recommended"—Choice; "I was fascinated by the facts"—AWM Newsletter.

See the publisher website: McFarland & Co