Mmmm... donuts...

Post 21 of 30 #MTBoS30

I remember sharing a love of the Simpsons with my math-nerdy friends back when I was in college.  Whoever was writing the show seemed to throw in little math and science touches, and every week we watched avidly, searching for fun references. We would share them out the next day with glee.

"Did you see the Googolplex last night?!"

"Omigod! I almost died laughing!"

(For those of you who don't remember, when the Simpsons went to the movies, the local cinema was the Googolplex.)

It always seemed to me that whoever was doing the writing had gone to high school during the same era I had--had perhaps even gone to high school with me based on some of the humor. I remember that I had a poster on my wall during high school with Snoopy surfing and thinking "Cowabunga," so the first time Bart yelled it out, I just knew.

So I'm really enjoying reading Simon Singh's book "The Simpson's and their Mathematical Secrets." I'm about halfway through it now.  It turns out that most of the writers on the show over the years have had pretty bonafide math and science educations prior to becoming comedy writers. I totally get it--my other blog is mostly humor writing. I have this theory that the study of mathematics gives you a warped viewpoint on life and an irreverence for all things serious.

Singh does a marvelous job blending an examination of the lives of the writers, references to the math to be found in specific episodes, examinations of the background stories of those episodes and a more in depth look at some of the math involved. The mathematical references should be accessible to most laymen. Still, I think this is truly a book for us nerds! Who else could truly appreciate the possession of an Erdos-Bacon number of 6? Or Sophie Germain's struggle to be a mathematician? Or the crazy complexity of the pancake sorting problem?

Singh also tells us about math teachers who bring the Simpson's into the classroom. I wish I'd thought of that. Regrettably, I haven't seen the Simpsons for years. I guess I'm going to have to find a way to catch up on my viewing.

Anyway, if you are looking for a good book for some fun and light summer reading, I can highly recommend this one.