thumb|Illustration of a simple house in Flatland '''Mathematical fiction''' is a genre of creative fictional work in which mathematics and mathematicians play important roles. The form and the medium of the works are not important. The genre may include poems, short stories, novels or plays; comic books; films, videos, or audios. One of the earliest, and much studied, work of this genre is ''Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions'', an 1884 satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott. Mathematical fiction may have existed since ancient times, but it was recently rediscovered as a genre of literature; since then there has been a growing body of literature in this genre, and the genre has attracted a growing body of readers.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Janice Padula|title=Mathematical fiction for senior students and undergraduates: Novels, plays, and film|journal=Australian Senior Mathematics Journal|volume=20|issue=2|pages=36–44|url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ744036.pdf|accessdate=26 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Darren Glass|title=MAA REview of The Shape of Content: Creative Writing in Mathematics and Science|url=http://www.maa.org/press/maa-reviews/the-shape-of-content-creative-writing-in-mathematics-and-science|publisher=Mathematical Association of America|accessdate=28 April 2016}}</ref> For example, Abbott's Flatland 19th century novel spawned a sequel in the 20th century ''Sphereland'' and again in the 21st century ''Flatterland'' authored by Ian Stewart.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jody Trout|title=Review of Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So|journal=Notices of the AMS|date=April 2012|volume=49|issue=4|pages=462–465|url=https://www.ams.org/notices/200204/rev-trout.pdf|accessdate=30 April 2016}}</ref>
==A database of mathematical fiction== Alex Kasman, a professor of mathematics 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'', a comedy by the ancient 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>
==See also== * Fourth dimension in literature * List of films about mathematicians
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *For a study of the mathematical fiction for senior students and undergraduates see: {{cite journal|last1=Janice Padula|title=Mathematical fiction for senior students and undergraduates: Novels, plays, and film|journal=Australian Senior Mathematics Journal|volume=20|issue=2|pages=36–44|url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ744036.pdf|accessdate=26 April 2016}} *For a selection of mathematical fiction chosen with the teaching of mathematics in secondary school in mind: {{cite journal|last1=Janice Padula|title=Mathematical Fiction: Its Place in Secondary-School Mathematics Learning|journal=Australian Mathematics Teacher|date=2005|volume=61|issue=4|pages=6–13|url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ743574.pdf|accessdate=26 April 2016}} *For a discussion of the portrayal of mathematicians in fictional works: {{cite journal|last1=Daniel Dotson|title=Portrayal of Mathematicians in Fictional Works|journal=CLC Web: Comparative Literature and Culture|date=2006|volume=8|issue=4|url=https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1324&context=clcweb|accessdate=26 April 2016}} *For an analysis of mathematical fiction with geometrical themes see: {{cite book|last1=Jennifer Rebecca Shloming|title=Analysis of Mathematical Fiction with Geometric Themes|date=2012|publisher=Columbia University|url=https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac%3A153198|accessdate=26 April 2016}} * For a discussion of mathematics in science fiction: {{cite web |title=Mathematics |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/mathematics |website=SFE (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction) |access-date=11 November 2022}}
==External links== *[http://kasmana.people.cofc.edu/MATHFICT/ Alex Kasman's database of mathematical fiction] *[https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/math-fiction Popular Math Fiction Books at ''goodreads'']
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Category:Science fiction genres Category:Speculative fiction Category:Mathematics and culture Category:Recreational mathematics