Mathematics in popular culture : essays on appearances in film, fiction, games, television and other media
| Print Book 2012 |
| Available at 1 Library 1 of 1 copy |
Summary
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.
Contents
Introduction / Jessica K. Sklar and Elizabeth S. SklarThe Game. A Survey of Fictional Mathematics in Literature / Alex Kasman
"You Never Said Anything About Math" : Math Phobia and Math Fanaticism in the World of Lost / Kristine Larsen
What's in a name? The Matrix as an Introduction to Mathematics / Kris Green
Mapping Contagion and Disease, Catastrophe and Destruction : Computer Modeling in the Epidemiological Disaster Narrative / Kathleen Coyne Kelly and Douglas Whittington
Fair and Unfair Division in Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon / William Goldbloom Bloch and Michael D.C. Drout
Game Theory in Popular Culture : Battles of Wits and Matters of Trust / Jennifer Firkins Nordstrom
Coming Out of the Dungeon : Mathematics and Role-Playing Games / Kris Green
Playing Moneyball : Math and Baseball / Jeff Hildebrand
A Mathematician Does the New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle / Gene Abrams
The Players. XKCD : A Web of Popular Culture / Karen Burnham
Counting with the Sharks : Math-Savvy Gamblers in Popular Culture / Matthew Lane
Stand and Deliver Twenty Years Later / Ksenija Simic-Muller, Maura Varley Gutiérrez and Rodrigo Jorge Gutiérrez
Smart Girls : The Uncanny Daughters of Arcadia and Proof / Sharon Alker and Roberta Davidson
Mean Girls : A Metamorphosis of the Female Math Nerd / Kristin Rowan
The Mathematical Misanthrope and American Popular Culture / Kenneth Faulkner
Alan Turing : Reflecting on the Life, Work, and Popular Representations of a Queer Mathematician / K.G. Valente
Mat(t)h Anxiety : Math as Symptom in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting / Donald l. Hoffman
Math + Metaphor. Thinking Outside the Box : Application Versus Discovery in Saw and Cube / Jessica K. Sklar
Tolstoy's Integration Metaphor from War and Peace / Stephen T. Ahearn
"We'll All Change Together" : Mathematics as Metaphor in Greg Egan's Fiction / Neil Easterbrook
Truth by the Numbers : Mysticism and Madness in Darren Aronofsky's [pi] / Laurie A. Finke and Martin B. Shichtman
Flatland in Popular Culture / Lila Marz Harper
Discovering a Higher Plane : Dimensionality and Enlightenment in Flatland and Diaspora / Chris Pak
Projective Geometry in Early Twentieth Century Esotericism : From the Anthroposophical Society to the Thoth Tarot / Richard Kaczynski
Mathematics in performance media
Mathematics in fiction and poetry.
Additional Information
| Subjects |
Mathematics in mass media.
Popular culture -- United States. Mass media and culture -- United States. |
| Publisher | Jefferson, N.C. :McFarland,2012 |
| Contributors |
Sklar, Jessica K.,
1973- Sklar, Elizabeth Sherr. |
| Language |
English |
| Description |
viii, 345 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm |
| Bibliography Notes |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN | 9780786449781 (softcover : alk. paper) 0786449780 (softcover : alk. paper) |
| Other | Classic View |