Mathematical Fiction for Senior Students and Undergraduates: Novels, Plays, and Film

Autor/in	Padula, Janice
Titel	Mathematical Fiction for Senior Students and Undergraduates: Novels, Plays, and Film
Quelle	In: Australian Senior Mathematics Journal, 20 (2006) 2, S.36-44 (9 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0819-4564
Schlagwörter	Novels; Films; Fiction; Drama; Mathematical Concepts; Mathematics; Mathematics Instruction; Teaching Methods; Undergraduate Students; Secondary School Students + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Novel; Roman; Film; Fiktion; Schauspiel; Mathematik; Mathematics lessons; Mathematikunterricht; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Sekundarschüler
Abstract	Mathematical fiction has probably existed since ideas have been written down and certainly as early as 414 BC (Kasman, 2000). Mathematical fiction is a recently rediscovered and growing literature, as sales of the novels: "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" (Haddon, 2003) and "The Da Vinci Code" (Brown, 2004) attest. Science fiction has been called the literature of ideas. These days fiction, not just science fiction, is likely to contain mathematical ideas. This article describes a novel and two plays with mathematical themes and then investigates the mathematics in the film, "A Beautiful Mind" (Howard & Grazer, 2001). The topics discussed include: modular arithmetic, cryptography, vector calculus, probability, financial mathematics, and game, chaos, and number theory, including Germain primes. Mathematical ideas can be introduced and discussed through short stories, novels, plays and screenplays, likewise some of this literature is suitable for the introduction of mathematical topics into the classroom or lecture hall. Indeed, used properly, these works can: motivate students; introduce mathematical ideas in an informative context; elaborate on topics; supply imaginative applications; and help clarify mathematics, with or without the collaboration of science and humanities teachers. Consequently, these works are useful propaganda for mathematics, encouraging an appreciation of it. They are capable of captivating an audience, a group of students, with some challenging mathematics. (Contains 2 figures.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT). GPO Box 1729, Adelaide, South Australia 5001. Tel: +61-8-8363-0288; Fax: +61-8-8362-9288; e-mail: office@aamt.edu.au; Web site: http://www.aamt.edu.au.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10