
MathFiction: Alex Recommends - vezycash
http://kasmana.people.cofc.edu/MATHFICT/readinglists.php
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vezycash
I downloaded the book "Carry On, Mr Bowditch." Opened it and only took three
breaks. It's a fun read for both kids and adults. But you won't learn any new
math through it.

However, it taught me a few things.

The importance of math and how tiny errors in calculations can cost lives. In
this case, the lives of sailors. That before GPS, sailors used the position of
moon and stars to calculate the longitude.

A bit of American history - why the US had to become a navy superpower.

I learned a lot about sailing - logbooks, knots, starboard, stern, lunar
navigation, sextant... and how dependent on the whims of the Wind shipping
used to be.

A bit about patience with people mentally slower than me in a given topic. The
analogy used: Walking in the dark and hitting my leg against a chair. I'm
angry and want to break the chair but it's not the fault of the chair.

Also learned about book writing. One could teach a class represented by
audience of a book in search of explanations they'll understand. And then use
those for the book.

The sentence "Math conquers all" might be a good summary for the book.

~~~
MaysonL
I wonder if Nathaniel Bowditch was an inspiration for Heinlein's 1953 novel
_Starman Jones_. It seems quite possible, given his Navy career.

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codeulike
Was confused how Greg Egan wasn't on the list, then I got to the sci-fi
section, and he's in there.

I could second his recommendation for 'Turing (A Novel About Computation)' by
Christos Papadimitriou

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kouh
Excellent list, I would merge with
[https://justinmeiners.github.io/foundations-of-math-
reading/](https://justinmeiners.github.io/foundations-of-math-reading/)

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HelloNurse
Barely qualifying as fiction, but very focused on the beauty and entertainment
value of mathematics: "Surreal Numbers" by Donald Knuth.

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eternauta3k
Two recommendations:

“The No-sided Professor,” by Martin Gardner, and “A Subway Named Moebius,” by
A.J. Deutsch.

[http://www.carliner-
remes.com/jacob/math/project/lit.htm](http://www.carliner-
remes.com/jacob/math/project/lit.htm)

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stevesimmons
At high school back in 1984, my year 9 math teacher (Larry Doolan) read us
excerpts from "Stories about Sets" by N. Ya. Vilenkin (1968) [0].

The book's first story is about a hotel with an infinite number of rooms. It
is fully booked, then one new guest arrives. Fortunately a solution is found.
Then an infinite number of new guests arrive. After some head-scratching, a
clever solution is found. Finally an infinity of infinite numbers of new
guests arrive. And a lot of head-scratching, an even cleverer solution is
still found!

[0]
[https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Stories_About_Sets.ht...](https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Stories_About_Sets.html?id=5I3iBQAAQBAJ)

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Archit3ch
I can second the recommendation for "Pythagorean Crimes" by Tefcros
Michaelides.

While not as good as "The Parrot's Theorem" that Tefcros translated from
French, it manages to seamlessly interweave famous figures into its otherwise
fictional plot.

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Jun8
If you're looking for books for older children, e.g. 9-13, _The Boy Who
Reversed Himself_ , _The Man Who Counted_ and _The Number Devil_ , which are
listed here, are fantastic.

For the younger audience, e.g. 6-9, I suggest the Math Adventures books, e.g.
_Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter_ , which are illustrated and introduce
mathematical concepts in a fun and subtle way.

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billfruit
Was there a Nabokov novel about mathematicians/mathematics ? Or perhaps it was
about chess.

~~~
zeebeecee
The Luzhin Defense is about chess. But perhaps the same novel could be written
about a mathematician, I first learned about the novel while reading this
article by V.I. Arnold:
[https://www.math.ru.nl/~mueger/arnold.pdf](https://www.math.ru.nl/~mueger/arnold.pdf)

