Dec 21, 2024  
2018-19 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2018-19 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

US 215 Truth and Beauty: Mathematics in Literature

Throughout history, mathematics has been an inspiration to poets and writers. Math itself is one of the major expressions of the mysteries, beauty, and truth of our universe, and literature about math enhances this expression. Just as science has led to science fiction (and creative non-fiction), so math has led to something analogous. From Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions (Edward A. Abbott) to Adventure of the Final Problem (a Sherlock Holmes adventure by Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle) to the stories of Aldous Huxley, Martin Gradner, Ian McEwan, Greg Egar, and others, to the poetry anthology Against Infinity (ed., Jet Foncannon and Marian Robson) to the poetry collection My Dance Is Mathematics (JoAnne Growney) and Crossing the Equal Sign (Marion Cohen), writings involving math have taken their place among humanity’s body of literature. This course explores some of the mathematical writings through the ages, as well as the math that inspired them.

Prerequisite: MA 100  and EN 101