The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets

THE SIMPSONS AND THEIR MATHEMATICAL SECRETS by Simon Singh Bloomsbury, New York, 2013,253 pp. ISBN: 978-1-620040-277-1In his book. The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets, Simon Singh discusses the role that mathematics plays in the popular and longrunning TV series, The Simpsons, as well as in the sister series, Futurama, a parody of science fiction.As Singh points out, in addition to humor, many of the shows in the two series also contain considerable intellectual content. The strong mathematics connection is described in one of my favorite lines in the book: "All these philosophers, psychologists, theologians, and politicians have missed the primary subtext of the world's favorite TV series. The truth is that many of the writers of The Simpsons are deeply in love with numbers, and their ultimate desire is to drip-feed morsels of mathematics into the subconscious minds of viewers." (p. 2)From major themes in the plot to short-lived background material in both series, the book chronicles many of these mathematical references. Singh also explains in considerable detail the backgrounds of the writers who joyfully include mathematics in the scripts. Several writers for both of these series have B.S., M.S, and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics or computer science. Of course, much of the mathematics- and science-based intellectual philosophy comes from the shows' creator and co-producer, cartoonist Matt Groening.Singh focuses on episodes that contain considerable mathematics, either in the story line or in the background. The very first episode of The Simpsons, "Bart the Genius," is one of these and even contains a calculus scene, a topic that frequently recurs. In another math-filled portrayal, in one of the annual Halloween episodes entitled "Tree House of Horror VI", Singh writes: "In one sequence alone, there is a tribute to history's most elegant equation, a joke that only works if you know about Fermat's last theorem, and a reference to a $1 million mathematics problem. All of this is embedded within a narrative that explores the complexities of higherdimensional geometry." (p. 3) Other recurring themes include n, e, infinity, prime numbers, perfect numbers, math puzzles, number basis, network graphs, fractals, sabermetrics, square roots, and the Pythagorean Theorem. And perhaps even more prevalent are the many references to mathematical history and biography. There is plenty of interesting mathematics in these comedic and popular TV shows.Futurama is probably more mathematical than The Simpsons because its co-producer, David Cohen, has a strong interest and background in mathematics. …