Mathematical fiction: Difference between revisions

Alex Kasman, a Professorprofessor of Mathematicsmathematics at the [[College of Charleston]], who maintains a database of works that could possibly be included in this genre, has a broader definition for the genre: Any work "containing mathematics or mathematicians" has been treated as mathematical fiction. Accordingly, ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'' by [[Jonathan Swift]], ''[[War and Peace]]'' by [[Lev Tolstoy]], ''[[Mrs. Warren's Profession]]'' by [[George Bernard Shaw]], and several similar literary works appear in Kasman's database because these works contain references to mathematics or mathematicians, even though mathematics and mathematicians are not important in their plots. According to this broader approach, the oldest extant work of mathematical fiction is ''[[The Birds (play)|The Birds]]'', a comedy by the Ancientancient Greek playwright [[Aristophanes]] performed in 414 BCE. Kasman's database has a list of more than one thousand items of diverse categories like literature, comic books and films.<ref name="Kasman">{{cite web|last1=Alex Kasman|title=Mathematical Fiction|url=http://kasmana.people.cofc.edu/MATHFICT/|publisher=Alex Kasman|accessdate=26 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Mathematical Fiction Website Achieves Milestone|url=https://www.ams.org/gnews#!news_id=1171|publisher=American Mathematical Society|accessdate=1 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Maya Sharma|title=Stories for Mathematicians: The Mathematical Fiction Homepage|url=http://blogs.ams.org/mathgradblog/2012/09/30/stories-mathematicians-mathematical-fiction-homepage/#sthash.cLdHW0QU.dpbs|website=AMS Blogs|publisher=American Mathematical Society|accessdate=1 May 2016}}</ref>