The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets

Simon Singh

oct 2013 · Bloomsbury Publishing USA

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The brainy book by the bestselling author of Fermat's Enigma-a must for anyone interested in numbers and mathematics, as well as for the millions of Simpsons fans worldwide.

“Simon Singh's excellent book blows the lid off a decades-long conspiracy to secretly educate cartoon viewers.” ?David X. Cohen, writer for The Simpsons and Futurama

You may have watched hundreds of episodes of The Simpsons (and its sister show Futurama) without ever realizing that cleverly embedded in many plots are subtle references to mathematics, ranging from well-known equations to cutting-edge theorems and conjectures. That they exist, Simon Singh reveals, underscores the brilliance of the shows' writers, many of whom have advanced degrees in mathematics in addition to their unparalleled sense of humor.

While recounting memorable episodes such as “Bart the Genius” and “Homer3,” Singh weaves in mathematical stories that explore everything from p to Mersenne primes, Euler's equation to the unsolved riddle of P v. NP; from perfect numbers to narcissistic numbers, infinity to even bigger infinities, and much more. Along the way, Singh meets members of The Simpsons' brilliant writing team-among them David X. Cohen, Al Jean, Jeff Westbrook, and Mike Reiss-whose love of arcane mathematics becomes clear as they reveal the stories behind the episodes.

With wit and clarity, displaying a true fan's zeal, and replete with images from the shows, photographs of the writers, and diagrams and proofs, The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets offers an entirely new insight into the most successful show in television history.

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Simon Singh grew up in Wellington, Somerset, and completed a in particle physics at Cambridge University and at CERN, Geneva after studying physics at Imperial College London. He is an author and journalist, specializing in science and mathematics. He is the author of Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial, which he co-authored with Edzard Ernst, the world's first professor of complementary medicine. He is also the author of Big Bang, a history of cosmology. He made a BBC documentary about Fermat's Last Theorem published a book on the subject – the first mathematical book to be a UK No.1 bestseller. His other book, The Code Book, is a history of codes and code breaking from Ancient Egypt to the Internet. Singh lives in London.