"12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/

Zero for twelve here. And I have nothing to add.

Oh yes, "The Martian" is all about math ! ! ! ! !

Lynn

On 25/01/2022 14.03, Lynn McGuire wrote:
> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>
> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>
> Zero for twelve here.  And I have nothing to add.

I've read the top three.

I had a link to a web site with an extensive list of mathematically-
oriented SF, but can't find it now. Makes me sad.

--
Michael F. Stemper
If you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much
more like prunes than rhubarb does.

Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> schrieb:
> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>
> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>
> Zero for twelve here. And I have nothing to add.

You didn't read "Cryptonomicon"? It's Stephenson at his
conspirational best.

Apart from that, I miss "The Planiverse".

On 25/01/2022 14.28, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> On 25/01/2022 14.03, Lynn McGuire wrote:
>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>
>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/

> I had a link to a web site with an extensive list of mathematically-
> oriented SF, but can't find it now. Makes me sad.

It was actually a more comprehensive list, which I rapidly
found once I searched for "mathematical fiction":

<http://kasmana.people.cofc.edu/MATHFICT/>

--
Michael F. Stemper
No animals were harmed in the composition of this message.

On 1/25/2022 2:41 PM, Thomas Koenig wrote:
> Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> schrieb:
>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>
>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>
>> Zero for twelve here. And I have nothing to add.
>
> You didn't read "Cryptonomicon"? It's Stephenson at his
> conspirational best.
>
> Apart from that, I miss "The Planiverse".

I think that I have Cryptonomicon in my SBR.

Lynn

Michael F. Stemper <michael.stemper@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 25/01/2022 14.03, Lynn McGuire wrote:
>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>
>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>
>> Zero for twelve here.  And I have nothing to add.
>
> I've read the top three.
>
> I had a link to a web site with an extensive list of mathematically-
> oriented SF, but can't find it now. Makes me sad.

The top tale, _Cryptonomicon_, was the only listed novel read by me. (It
surprised me to see even one story known to me on Livingston's list.)
_Cryptonomicon_ weaves multiple (four?) story threads together. The
threads take place in distinctly different decades and places with
varied characters. At best, a character from a given thread may be an
ancestor of another character in a different thread.
_Cryptonomicon_ demanded notes from me (see footnote) in order to
keep each story strand straight. (My Perry Rhodan reviews also help me
remember pertinent details from each novella.)
Another item of interest in regards to _Cryptonomicon_, is its
fantastic fact fictionalization. Fort Drum, for instance, is a rock with
naval guns on top in real life. _Cryptonomicon_ metamorphises Fort Drum
into a bunker complex with several separate stories (floors) hidden
below, carved out of rock.

Incomplete Cryptonomicon notes:

00. Prologue. Bobby Shaftoe gets gridlocked with coolies trying to
convert bank notes to bullion.

01. Barrens. Lawrence Waterhouse, Turing, and Rudy hang out at Princeton.

02. Novus Ordo Seclorum. Randy Waterhouse arrives in Manila.

03. Seaweed. Bobby Shaftoe reminisces about Goto Dengo, leaves Shanghi
for Manila before the Pearl Harbor attack interrupts his date with
Glory.

04. Forays. Randy Waterhouse ruminates about Intramuros.

05. Indigo. Seaman Lawrence Waterhouse comes to the attention of Pearl
Harbor code breaks after the Nips attack.

06. The Spawn of Onan. While in Manilla Randy Waterhouse recalls
Charlene and his past.

07. Burn. Bobby Shaftoe leaves Glory behind after Pearl Harbor.

08. Pedestrian. Randy Waterhouse walks around until discerning "lines
of sight."

09. Guadalcanal. Enoch Root rescues Bobby Shaftoe.

10. Galleon. Randy Waterhouse meets Amy Shaftoe.

11. Nightmare. Bobby Shaftoe meets with Ronald Reagan then gets assigned
to North Africa.

12. Londinium. Lawrence Waterhouse strolls through London day dreaming
of information theory before noting that Detachment 2701 is a
product of two primes, 37 and 73.
13. Corregidor. Randy Waterhouse meets Douglas McArthur Shaftoe.

14. Tube. Waterhouse arrives at Bletchley Park, fakes data to normalize
heights of female Bombe assemblers.
15. Meat. Prepping to spirit a body out of Algiers.

16. Cycles. Lawrence Waterhouse takes a bike ride with Turing.
Description relating bike chains to ciphers.

17. Aloft. Bobby Shaftoe departs on airplane and recalls Guadalcanal.

18. Non-Disclosure. Avi explains business plan to Randy Waterhouse,
Eberhard Föhr, John Cantrell, Tom Howard, and Beryl Hagen.

19. Ultra. Waterhouse visits Bletchley Park.

20. Kinakuta. Randy flies over island on arrival.

21. Owghlm House. Waterhouse arranges to use castle.

22. Electrical Till Corporation. Comstock locates shipment at Sydney
Harbor pier.

23. Crypt. Randy visits big dig.

24. Lizard. Detachment 2702 bribes its way though war time Italy.
Shaftoe reminisces about Guadalcanal lizard.

25. The Castle. Galvanick Lucipher flashlight, sotto voce, modus
vivendi, one-time pad.

26. Why. Biz plan, tombstone mail server, Secret Admirers mailing list,
"The Bomb and Grapnel" hotel bar, Eutropians.

27. Retrograde Maneuver. Nips bury coverless code books at Sio, New
Guinea.

28. Huffduff. Meet Margaret the German spy.

29. Pages. Pawing through Nip code books at Ascot.

30. Ram. Bobby Shaftoe's outfit stages a ship grounding in Norway to
leave a code book behind.

31. Diligence. Epiphyte officers meet to discuss cable competition.

32. Spearhead. Lawrence Waterhouse discovers a safe then gets injured
will pillaging grounded U-553.

33. Morphium. Bobby Shaftoe blows out safe, plunders morphium, and sees
gold before U-553 sinks.

34. Suit. Everybody suits up before inadvertently running into the
Dentist on the way out of the hotel to see the Sultan.

35. Cracker. Lawrence Waterhouse cracks open U-553's safe that contains
a bar of gold with Asiatic markings on it.

36. Sultan. During a meeting with the Sultan and all other interested
parties Randy realizes that Epiphyte(2) has fallen in with thieves.

37. Skipping. Goto Dengo receives first hand experience of the 5th Air
Force's skipping bomb technique.

38. Mugs. Randy Waterhouse's ad hoc demo of biometric software enables
his notebook to surreptitiously take a mugshot of every curious
person attending the Sultan's meeting.

39. Yamamoto. An American ace shoots down Yamamoto's Betty enroute to
Bougainville.

40. Antaeus. Lawrence Waterhouse, still puzzled with the cryptic
messages from U-553's safe, meets up with Turing in London, who in
turn discerns Rudy's handwriting.

41. Phreaking. Randy Waterhouse watches a Finn using Finux use an
antenna with Van Eck phreaking to watch Tom Howard write a sexy
story with Word on a notebook in the adjacent hotel room.

42. Afloat. Goto Dengo spends several days crossing the Bismark Sea to
witness one mutual survivor get poisoned by a snake and the other
eaten by cannibals.

43. Shinola. Shaftoe's group masquerade as negros, accidentally on
purpose run into a U-boat and its milchcow, get torpedoed, then
taken prisoner by U-691.

44. Hostilities. The Dentist sues to surreptitiously obtain ownership.

45. Funkspiel. Ultra Mega hastily meets to decide to masquerade as U-691
to play "radio games" and pass disinformation to Admiral Dönitz.

46. HEAP. Avi discloses Holocaust Education and Avoidance Pod with Randy
then Randy discloses Shaftoe discovering a sunken WWII sub with
gold.

47. Seeky. Shaftoe breaks and discloses all to straight-jacked Captain
of U-691. Captain resumes command then forms an uneasy alliance with
Shaftoe and Root to recover U-553's gold.

48. Cannibals. Goto uses gold to entice another tribe to keep him alive.
Nips subsequently kill all of the tribe then engage Allied forces.

49. Wreck. When Randy, Amy, and Doug use a robotic watercraft to examine
sunken gold laden sub they discover an open escape hatch.

50. Santa Monica. Waterhouse prepares to depart across the Pacific
Ocean.

51. Outpost. Goto winds up in a Nip camp with a radio then leaves on a
sub.

52. Meteor. Shaftoe idles away his time dating Julieta and unloading
cargos for her uncle.

53. Lavender Rose. Randy works on his dive plan before divers recover an
aluminum briefcase containing some personal stationary of Rudolf von
Hacklheber together with an envelope addressed to WATERHOUSE
LAVENDER ROSE.

54. Brisbane. Waterhouse arrives in Brisbane to tighten Ultra security
but a McArthur aide blows him off by disclosing McArthur's belief
that the Nips are too humiliated to ever admit the compromise of
their code.

55. Dönitz. Bischoff remains behind in Sweden with Shaftoe while the
rest of his crew returns with U-691 to Kiel. A German rocket plane
crashes in the forest causing Bischoff and Shaftoe to meet up with
Root and Rudy.

56. Crunch.

57. Girl.

58. Conspiracy.

59. Hoard.

60. Rocket.

61. Courting.

62. INRI

63. California

64. Organ.

65. Home.

66. Bundok.

67. Computer.

68. Caravan.

69. The General.

70. Origin.

71. Golgotha.

72. Seattle.

73. Rock.

74. The Most Cigarettes

75. Christmas 1944.

76. Pulse.

77. Buddha.

78. Pontifex.

79. Glory.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'

On 2022-01-25, Michael F. Stemper <michael.stemper@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 25/01/2022 14.28, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>> On 25/01/2022 14.03, Lynn McGuire wrote:
>>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>>
>>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>
>> I had a link to a web site with an extensive list of mathematically-
>> oriented SF, but can't find it now. Makes me sad.
>
> It was actually a more comprehensive list, which I rapidly
> found once I searched for "mathematical fiction":
>
><http://kasmana.people.cofc.edu/MATHFICT/>
>

I've only read the top 3 also, but meant to read _Flatterland_ at
some point and forgot about it; now ordered on Kindle.

I've been reading Chinese webnovels and a couple of years ago finished
an on-topic one that I've been meaning to recommend to folks here.
_Scholar's Advanced Technological System_ by Morning Star LL
https://www.webnovel.com/book/scholar's-advanced-technological-system_12583970906002305

Like many Chinese webnovels, the protagonist collapses/dies and comes
back to life with a cheat/system that allows him to gradually level up
his powers. Normally it's martial arts or related disciplines that
level up, but here the protagonist is a modern university student
leveling up in math and science.

We follow him as he participates in Putnam/Math Olympiad/other science
competitions and then goes on to graduate and attack and solve
increasingly difficult real problems, eventually winning the Fields
Medal and Nobel prizes, and then continues to develop.

Astoundingly, the hand-waving pseudo-math and pseudo-science are
excellent. The author clearly has either first or direct second-hand
knowledge of the areas and the experiences of competing and being a
scientist. There are lots of real 20th and 21st century
mathematicians discussed and even appearing as characters (eg Terence
Tao is in a dozen or more chapters). Obviously the plot is quite
unbelievable, but there was very little that was contra-factual for me.

The translation is excellent; obviously the translator had to have a
decent mathematical background as well. (The few math formulas were
gibberish - I don't know if that was author or translator or typesetter.)
I have a reasonable math background (eg a reasonable positive score in
Putnam) but not the breadth of knowledge of the author/translator.

I would put it in the top 5 out of the 150 or so Asian webnovels I've
read (or started to read). I recommend it if it's an area that appeals
to you.

Chris

PS. I responded to this post because I checked to see if the mathematical
fiction archive mentioned has this novel - it doesn't.

Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>
> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>
Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.

On 26/01/22 16:24, David Duffy wrote:
> Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>
>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>
> Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
> Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.

Criticism of Deadrock's idiotic BEST lists promoted by non-critical
Dimwire is now a ritual here. Though they do produce some book
discussion as well.

In article <ssqetc$ifh$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
David Duffy <davidD@qimr.edu.au> wrote:
>Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>
>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>
>Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
>Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.

It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
the mind of

"A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch

"And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein

"All The Myriad Ways" by Niven

and

"The Imaginary" by Asimov

back in novel length, though it was a very small part of the plot, I still
remember the "geometrical option" used on the Igli in _Glory Road_.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

In article <sspl1t$rkv$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>
> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>
> Zero for twelve here. And I have nothing to add.
>
> Oh yes, "The Martian" is all about math ! ! ! ! !
>

The one anthology listed, _Fantasia Mathematica_, includes "--He Built a
Crooked House", "Superiority" (which wasn't math, but insufficiently
tested hardware), and "A Subway Named Mobius" (which was nominated by a
Retro Hugo in 2001). At least those are the stories I remember reading.

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
—-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
> In article <ssqetc$ifh$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
> David Duffy <davidD@qimr.edu.au> wrote:
>>Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>>
>>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>>
>>Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
>>Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.
>
> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
> the mind of
>
> "A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch
>
> "And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein
>
> "All The Myriad Ways" by Niven
>
> and
>
> "The Imaginary" by Asimov
>
> back in novel length, though it was a very small part of the plot, I still
> remember the "geometrical option" used on the Igli in _Glory Road_.

If you don't like Livingston's list, an authorial arrangement of
Michael's link:

http://kasmana.people.cofc.edu/MATHFICT/mfbrowse-author.php

shows all but one of the stories and authors mentioned by both of you.
The one absent author can be found with a search on Zindell. (The author
list prematurely ends probably due to a software bug.) Eagon's entry
embodies the most stories. And "Myriad Ways" appears by way of the
Convergent Series http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?53821.
Apparently people can vote as to the quantity/quality of the math
found within each story.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'

Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> schrieb:
> In article <ssqetc$ifh$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
> David Duffy <davidD@qimr.edu.au> wrote:
>>Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>>
>>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>>
>>Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
>>Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.
>
> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
> the mind of
>
> "A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch
>
> "And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein
>
> "All The Myriad Ways" by Niven

Surely, the canonical mathematical short story is "Convergent
Series" by Niven.

In article <ssqshd$ptr$3@newsreader4.netcologne.de>,
Thomas Koenig <tkoenig@netcologne.de> wrote:
>Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> schrieb:
>> In article <ssqetc$ifh$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
>> David Duffy <davidD@qimr.edu.au> wrote:
>>>Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>>>
>>>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>>>
>>>Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
>>>Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.
>>
>> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
>> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
>> the mind of
>>
>> "A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch
>>
>> "And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein
>>
>> "All The Myriad Ways" by Niven
>
>Surely, the canonical mathematical short story is "Convergent
>Series" by Niven.

You know, I don't think I've read that one.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

On 26/01/2022 01.17, Thomas Koenig wrote:
> Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> schrieb:
>> In article <ssqetc$ifh$1@gioia.aioe.org>,

>> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
>> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
>> the mind of
>>
>> "A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch
>>
>> "And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein
>>
>> "All The Myriad Ways" by Niven
>
> Surely, the canonical mathematical short story is "Convergent
> Series" by Niven.

Yes, much more mathematical than "All the Myriad Ways".

--
Michael F. Stemper
Psalm 94:3-6

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 9:05:10 AM UTC-5, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> On 26/01/2022 01.17, Thomas Koenig wrote:
> > Ted Nolan <tednolan> <t...@loft.tnolan.com> schrieb:
> >> In article <ssqetc$ifh$1...@gioia.aioe.org>,
> >> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
> >> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
> >> the mind of
> >>
> >> "A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch
> >>
> >> "And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein
> >>
> >> "All The Myriad Ways" by Niven
> >
> > Surely, the canonical mathematical short story is "Convergent
> > Series" by Niven.
> Yes, much more mathematical than "All the Myriad Ways".

Everyone seems to be missing Rudy Rucker's 'Transreal' novels,
which include quite a bit of higher math concepts, including some scenes
set at the Hilbert Hotel.\

pt

Robert Woodward wrote:
> In article <sspl1t$rkv$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
> >
> > https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
> >
> >
> The one anthology listed, _Fantasia Mathematica_, includes "--He Built a
> Crooked House", "Superiority" (which wasn't math, but insufficiently
> tested hardware), and "A Subway Named Mobius" (which was nominated by a
> Retro Hugo in 2001). At least those are the stories I remember reading.

And "The No-Sided Professor," which is the Martin Gardner I suspected when he mentioned one. (He also had a visitor he wrote about in his Mathematical Games columns, which may be less stories and more story problems, which causes me to admit again that I read all the fictional bits in Hofstadter's _Godel, Escher, Bach_, if not all the essay chapters they were appended to.)

Topology and the types of infinity are what I suspect have the most attraction for sf writers ("The Feeling of Power" by Asimov is about simple calculation -- someone got "the old ways are best" wires crossed and grabbed Clarke's "Superiority" by mistake

YASID: probably a short-short in a magazine '70s-'80s: Some folk find a small, living moebius strip, it has a hole in it they conjecture is its mouth (with the decorum of the time, I doubt they followed a conjectural path around to note what comes out on the other side). The little thing is disconsolate until the introduce a mother-figure: --*****SPOILERS*****-- a klein bottle. There was an illustration, my first sight of a klein bottle, so I know it wasn't in F&SF.

_Fantasia Mathematica_ also confirms my suspicion that Poe would have written something that could at least be edited down to its mathematical point for inclusion.

--
-Jack

On 1/25/22 23:17, Thomas Koenig wrote:
> Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> schrieb:
>> In article <ssqetc$ifh$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
>> David Duffy <davidD@qimr.edu.au> wrote:
>>> Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>>>
>>>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>>>
>>> Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
>>> Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.
>>
>> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
>> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
>> the mind of
>>
>> "A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch
>>
>> "And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein
>>
>> "All The Myriad Ways" by Niven
>
> Surely, the canonical mathematical short story is "Convergent
> Series" by Niven.

Does this one involve a demon?

--
Dave Scruggs
Captain, Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)
Sr. Software Engineer - Stellar Solutions (Definitely Retired)

BCFD36 <bcfd36@cruzio.com> schrieb:
> On 1/25/22 23:17, Thomas Koenig wrote:
>> Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> schrieb:
>>> In article <ssqetc$ifh$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
>>> David Duffy <davidD@qimr.edu.au> wrote:
>>>> Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>>>>
>>>>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>>>>
>>>> Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
>>>> Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.
>>>
>>> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
>>> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
>>> the mind of
>>>
>>> "A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch
>>>
>>> "And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein
>>>
>>> "All The Myriad Ways" by Niven
>>
>> Surely, the canonical mathematical short story is "Convergent
>> Series" by Niven.
>
> Does this one involve a demon?

Yes, that's the one.

On 2022-01-26, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:

>>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>>>
>>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>>>
>>Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
>>Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.
>
> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal.

Yes, I think Greg Egan did a few.

I think after reading "The Infinite Assassin" I asked an acquaintance
who was majoring in math what a Cantor set was. (This was before
Wikipedia.)

--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de

On Friday, January 28, 2022 at 4:30:07 PM UTC-5, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
> On 2022-01-26, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <t...@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
>
> >>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
> >>>
> >>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
> >>>
> >>Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
> >>Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.
> >
> > It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
> > than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal.
>
> Yes, I think Greg Egan did a few.
>

As have Ted Chiang and Yoon Ha Lee.

> I think after reading "The Infinite Assassin" I asked an acquaintance
> who was majoring in math what a Cantor set was. (This was before
> Wikipedia.)
>

Cantor sets are weird. And delightful.
- Tony

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 12:18:01 AM UTC-7, Thomas Koenig wrote:
> Ted Nolan <tednolan> <t...@loft.tnolan.com> schrieb:
> > In article <ssqetc$ifh$1...@gioia.aioe.org>,
> > David Duffy <dav...@qimr.edu.au> wrote:
> >>Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
> >>>
> >>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
> >>>
> >>Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
> >>Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.
> >
> > It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
> > than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
> > the mind of
> >
> > "A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch
> >
> > "And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein
> >
> > "All The Myriad Ways" by Niven
> Surely, the canonical mathematical short story is "Convergent
> Series" by Niven.

What's the one in which a time traveler gives Isaac Newton a calculator?

On 29/01/2022 14.23, Tony Nance wrote:
> On Friday, January 28, 2022 at 4:30:07 PM UTC-5, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>> On 2022-01-26, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <t...@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:

>>> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
>>> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal.
>>
>> Yes, I think Greg Egan did a few.
>
> As have Ted Chiang and Yoon Ha Lee.
>
>> I think after reading "The Infinite Assassin" I asked an acquaintance
>> who was majoring in math what a Cantor set was. (This was before
>> Wikipedia.)
>>
>
> Cantor sets are weird. And delightful.

They're perfect!

--
Michael F. Stemper
Exodus 22:21

artyw2 wrote:
> Thomas Koenig wrote:
>> Ted Nolan schrieb:
>> > David Duffy wrote:
>> >>Lynn McGuire wrote:
>> >>> "12 Best Mathematical Science Fiction Books" by Dan Livingston
>> >>>
>> >>> https://best-sci-fi-books.com/12-best-mathematical-science-fiction-books/
>> >>>
>> >>Some of these don't seem to be SFnal. Needed more Greg Egans. And no
>> >>Rudy Rucker? Zindell's _Neverness_ might count too.
>> >
>> > It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
>> > than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal. I'm put into
>> > the mind of
>> >
>> > "A Subway Named Mobius" by Armin Joseph Deutsch
>> >
>> > "And He Built A Crooked House" by Heinlein
>> >
>> > "All The Myriad Ways" by Niven
>> Surely, the canonical mathematical short story is "Convergent
>> Series" by Niven.
>
> What's the one in which a time traveler gives Isaac Newton a calculator?

"Newton's Gift" (Nahin). It's also enumerated in the big list:

http://kasmana.people.cofc.edu/MATHFICT/mfbrowse-author.php

###

You can also add my vote to "Convergent Series" as the canonical
mathematical short story by Niven. Although neither "Convergent Series"
nor "All The Myriad Ways" was memorable to me. It took a re-read of both
to refresh my memory of either.
It creates confusion when a collection and a short story share the
same title under a given author. In the end, it turns out
"All The Myriad Ways" is /not/ included in the big list.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'

On Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 10:52:25 AM UTC-5, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> On 29/01/2022 14.23, Tony Nance wrote:
> > On Friday, January 28, 2022 at 4:30:07 PM UTC-5, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
> >> On 2022-01-26, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <t...@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
>
> >>> It's probably easier to get a neat mathmatical idea into a short story
> >>> than a novel where you have to go on after the reveal.
> >>
> >> Yes, I think Greg Egan did a few.
> >
> > As have Ted Chiang and Yoon Ha Lee.
> >
> >> I think after reading "The Infinite Assassin" I asked an acquaintance
> >> who was majoring in math what a Cantor set was. (This was before
> >> Wikipedia.)
> >>
> >
> > Cantor sets are weird. And delightful.
>
> They're perfect!
>

Heh - indeed they are.