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The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets
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.
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.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
480 people are currently reading
7579 people want to read
About the author
Simon Singh
20 books1,503 followersSimon Lehna Singh, MBE is a British author who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics in an accessible manner. He is the maiden winner of the Lilavati Award.
His written works include Fermat's Last Theorem (in the United States titled Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem), The Code Book (about cryptography and its history), Big Bang (about the Big Bang theory and the origins of the universe) and Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial (about complementary and alternative medicine).
He has also produced documentaries and works for television to accompany his books, is a trustee of NESTA, the National Museum of Science and Industry and co-founded the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme.
His written works include Fermat's Last Theorem (in the United States titled Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem), The Code Book (about cryptography and its history), Big Bang (about the Big Bang theory and the origins of the universe) and Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial (about complementary and alternative medicine).
He has also produced documentaries and works for television to accompany his books, is a trustee of NESTA, the National Museum of Science and Industry and co-founded the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 647 reviews
February 27, 2025
“As a society, we rightly adore our great musicians and novelists … “
“… yet we seldom hear any mention of the humble mathematicians.” Simply put, it was the hope of the two very gifted writing teams who prepared the scripts for THE SIMPSONS and FUTURAMA to underhandedly smuggle complex mathematics into prime-time television. They left it to their audience to understand and interpret the hundreds of gags given to them. Indeed, in many cases, the gags were well hidden and left, like Easter eggs, for only the nerdiest of the audience to cleverly spot and unravel.
THE SIMPSONS AND THEIR MATHEMATICAL SECRETS is a brief overview of the history of the writers and an outline of the writing team’s favorite gags with the reasoning that went into their creation. The mathematics they chose to use, primarily focused on number theory, was far from basic, interesting, indeed, esoteric without being beyond the reach of someone without a university mathematics degree. Singh’s sampling of the gags (that probably numbered in the hundreds over the course of the lifetime of two of the most successful series in television history) although limited by necessity was demonstrative of the fiendish intellects that prepared them.
The reason for restricting my evaluation to three stars as opposed to four or five was that, for my tastes, far too much time was spent conveying the personal histories of the writers as opposed to the mathematics (which is what I was expecting - fairly I think - from the title, not to mention Singh’s well-deserved reputation as a popular science and mathematics writer).
Paul Weiss
“… yet we seldom hear any mention of the humble mathematicians.” Simply put, it was the hope of the two very gifted writing teams who prepared the scripts for THE SIMPSONS and FUTURAMA to underhandedly smuggle complex mathematics into prime-time television. They left it to their audience to understand and interpret the hundreds of gags given to them. Indeed, in many cases, the gags were well hidden and left, like Easter eggs, for only the nerdiest of the audience to cleverly spot and unravel.
THE SIMPSONS AND THEIR MATHEMATICAL SECRETS is a brief overview of the history of the writers and an outline of the writing team’s favorite gags with the reasoning that went into their creation. The mathematics they chose to use, primarily focused on number theory, was far from basic, interesting, indeed, esoteric without being beyond the reach of someone without a university mathematics degree. Singh’s sampling of the gags (that probably numbered in the hundreds over the course of the lifetime of two of the most successful series in television history) although limited by necessity was demonstrative of the fiendish intellects that prepared them.
The reason for restricting my evaluation to three stars as opposed to four or five was that, for my tastes, far too much time was spent conveying the personal histories of the writers as opposed to the mathematics (which is what I was expecting - fairly I think - from the title, not to mention Singh’s well-deserved reputation as a popular science and mathematics writer).
Paul Weiss
March 30, 2017
For everyone who has watched it, The Simpsons means a lot of things: long running animated show, brilliant social satire, pop culture phenomenon, an amazing cast of characters, irreverent humour. But steady source of ingenious math references? It’s safe to say that the majority of viewers would say, unequivocally, no. Simon Singh, a great popularizer of math and science, aims to turn that misconception on its head for readers of his excellent book, The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets. The book gives some background on the writers of the show, revealing that many of them hold PHDs in Mathematics and Computer Science from Ivy League universities. Naturally, the writers predilection for math has worked its way onto The Simpsons repeatedly over the years and Singh uses the many math references on the show as a springboard to give the reader a whirlwind tour of mathematics, ranging from prime numbers to Euler’s identity. Singh excels at making the math in the book readable and alive, holding that perfect balance of not talking down to the reader like they’re Ralph Wiggum but mindful that they aren’t Professor Frink either. It should be noted that Singh focuses on more than just The Simpsons as the book is also about the show’s not-as-popular cousin, Futurama, which has just as many math references (including Keeler’s Theorem, which was created to solve a predicament involving character’s minds switching bodies on an episode of the show). Ultimately, The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets argues that while math is shunned by the majority of pop culture, on The Simpsons and Futurama math is more than just a fringe element: it’s just as much a part of the family as Homer, Bart, Lisa, Bender and Fry, and for that both shows should be celebrated.
December 10, 2014
While my obsession with the Simpson's has waned over the years this book is a reminder of what made me unwittingly fall in love with this show. The author's obsession with the show makes me feel/look like an amateur. ;-)
Simon Singh does a fantastic job (the book reads like he thoroughly enjoyed it too) of uncovering gems from this show. From the "Treehouse of Horror VI" Calculus joke (yeah I completely missed this one!) to the very famous Fermat's last theorem. It you are interested in Mathematics it is actually a pretty good refresher of what you miss by not doing maths on a daily basis. I mean c'mon do you really think about perfect numbers, narcissistic numbers or Mersenne Primes? Did you ever? Yeah, thought so. When you couple that with what appear to be random numbers to guess the attendance at an Isotopes Baseball game you really have to read this book.
In addition dissecting the show Singh provides the readers with short biographical information of the writers. Many (nay ALL) of them had brilliant careers in Mathematics and decided to move to writing comedy. The world I would argue is better off for it. In a strange way reading this book gave me an appreciation on the fascination with dealing with absurdity. It made me understand how oft acerbic social commentary that comes from the show.
As a final bonus the book also tackles the arguably EVEN more brilliant Futurama.
Simon Singh does a fantastic job (the book reads like he thoroughly enjoyed it too) of uncovering gems from this show. From the "Treehouse of Horror VI" Calculus joke (yeah I completely missed this one!) to the very famous Fermat's last theorem. It you are interested in Mathematics it is actually a pretty good refresher of what you miss by not doing maths on a daily basis. I mean c'mon do you really think about perfect numbers, narcissistic numbers or Mersenne Primes? Did you ever? Yeah, thought so. When you couple that with what appear to be random numbers to guess the attendance at an Isotopes Baseball game you really have to read this book.
In addition dissecting the show Singh provides the readers with short biographical information of the writers. Many (nay ALL) of them had brilliant careers in Mathematics and decided to move to writing comedy. The world I would argue is better off for it. In a strange way reading this book gave me an appreciation on the fascination with dealing with absurdity. It made me understand how oft acerbic social commentary that comes from the show.
As a final bonus the book also tackles the arguably EVEN more brilliant Futurama.
May 1, 2014
What a boring, boring audiobook.
Here’s pretty much how every chapter is structured:^
A paragraph or 2 about a specific Simpsons episode’s math reference (a lot of the text being the episode’s name repeated many, many times)
A few pages about the script writers’ math pedigree and whom they know in the math community, with maybe a call back to the show’s reference.
Pages and pages of detailed math history that goes from minutia to brain-dead simple.
Then a quick paragraph to conclude and remind us that we are indeed reading a book supposedly about the Simpsons.
I almost fell asleep a few times and that’s dangerous since I listen to audiobooks during my commute…in my car.
This could have been an interesting article, without all the history. Maybe it was the narrator, or maybe it’s a bad idea to listen to math audiobooks while driving. But I was expecting a little more entertainment from this book. Especially judging by its cover.
Here’s pretty much how every chapter is structured:^
A paragraph or 2 about a specific Simpsons episode’s math reference (a lot of the text being the episode’s name repeated many, many times)
A few pages about the script writers’ math pedigree and whom they know in the math community, with maybe a call back to the show’s reference.
Pages and pages of detailed math history that goes from minutia to brain-dead simple.
Then a quick paragraph to conclude and remind us that we are indeed reading a book supposedly about the Simpsons.
I almost fell asleep a few times and that’s dangerous since I listen to audiobooks during my commute…in my car.
This could have been an interesting article, without all the history. Maybe it was the narrator, or maybe it’s a bad idea to listen to math audiobooks while driving. But I was expecting a little more entertainment from this book. Especially judging by its cover.
August 6, 2023
Brilliant!
Simon Singh never fails to impress. The best author to bring forth geeky stuff in layman terms.
Having never watched even a single episode of Simpsons or Futurama, was a bit hesitant to pick this. The mathematics more than filled it up for me.
Loved:
1. Unleashing the brilliance of mathematical jokes in the series.
2. Filling up on the history and context of the numbers and equations.
3. A sneak peek on the writers, creators and their credentials.
4. The fun filled question papers via which the readers can assess their quotient to understand these jokes.
5. Simplicity. The most important ingredient in narrating a topic like this.
If you've ever had fun with numbers, or contemplated the magic of mathematics, this book is for you!!
Simon Singh never fails to impress. The best author to bring forth geeky stuff in layman terms.
Having never watched even a single episode of Simpsons or Futurama, was a bit hesitant to pick this. The mathematics more than filled it up for me.
Loved:
1. Unleashing the brilliance of mathematical jokes in the series.
2. Filling up on the history and context of the numbers and equations.
3. A sneak peek on the writers, creators and their credentials.
4. The fun filled question papers via which the readers can assess their quotient to understand these jokes.
5. Simplicity. The most important ingredient in narrating a topic like this.
If you've ever had fun with numbers, or contemplated the magic of mathematics, this book is for you!!
June 5, 2015
Who'd have thought that a family based cartoon series would have so many maths links, but it turns out the Simpsons does. A significant number of the script writers on the Simpsons have some form of maths or science background, and arrived at the studios having either dropped out or after post doc studies.
In this book Singh introduces us to them, and some of their backgrounds, as well as outlining many of the ways that they have sneaked maths puzzles and jokes into the scripts and illustrations. It is not an in-depth maths book, which is what you would expect, as it is being pitched at Simpsons fans.
Overall it was Ok I suppose. I do have one tiny confession though, I have never watched an episode of the Simpsons, so a fair amount of it washed straight over me. Worth 2.5 stars as Singh does write well, and the concepts are clear and well illustrated..
November 11, 2013
One of my favorite jokes of The Simpsons happens to be a Math joke. This is odd because I absolutely detest Mathematics. I believe it was but on this Earth just to mock me but I digress. The joke, which is discussed in this book, is when Lisa discovers that nerds actually release a pheromone via their sweat glands that negatively attract bullies.
This is a breakthrough and Lisa writes a paper about her findings. She is then invited to a big Science conference to present it. Everyone in the conference is speaking amongst themselves and Dr. Frink is trying to get everyone to quiet down. At the end of his stuttering, Frink yells out: Pi is exactly three! The audience is stunned and I, the self-proclaimed Math Hater, laughed hysterically.
It was a cute joke an universally appealing. Anybody who has been subjected to any type of Math class knows the Pi is an irrational number: 3.14159...To me, to say that Pi is exactly three was a bit blasphemous in the Math world.
This was one of the more overt jokes about Mathematics in The Simpsons but Simon Singh details all the hidden little jokes, the freeze frame gags, that have appeared over The Simpsons 24 year, and counting, span. The reason: many of the writers have bachelors, Masters, and PhDs in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, and other like degrees. They have written research papers for respected journals, they have low Erdos numbers, and they have even started a Math club where they discussed everything math related and present papers.
The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets was an awesome read. I feel it was a spiritual successor to Stephen Hawking's And God Created the Intergers. Hawking spoke about the most famous Mathematicians and how their contributions helped the field of Mathematics grow and prosper.
Singh, conversely, speaks about the lesser known Mathematicians and formulas. Lesser known to those outside of the Math circle. Like the significance of the number 1729 that appears many times in Futurama, explainations of binary code and cryptography, and narcisstic numbers which I had no idea existed.
Singh does a sort of good job explaining the math definitions and various formulas for the laymen to understand. Personally, I felt he got to boggled down in all of the technical jargon but when he explained the history of a certain part of Mathematics in his little anecdotes, he did that beautifully.
This is a breakthrough and Lisa writes a paper about her findings. She is then invited to a big Science conference to present it. Everyone in the conference is speaking amongst themselves and Dr. Frink is trying to get everyone to quiet down. At the end of his stuttering, Frink yells out: Pi is exactly three! The audience is stunned and I, the self-proclaimed Math Hater, laughed hysterically.
It was a cute joke an universally appealing. Anybody who has been subjected to any type of Math class knows the Pi is an irrational number: 3.14159...To me, to say that Pi is exactly three was a bit blasphemous in the Math world.
This was one of the more overt jokes about Mathematics in The Simpsons but Simon Singh details all the hidden little jokes, the freeze frame gags, that have appeared over The Simpsons 24 year, and counting, span. The reason: many of the writers have bachelors, Masters, and PhDs in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, and other like degrees. They have written research papers for respected journals, they have low Erdos numbers, and they have even started a Math club where they discussed everything math related and present papers.
The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets was an awesome read. I feel it was a spiritual successor to Stephen Hawking's And God Created the Intergers. Hawking spoke about the most famous Mathematicians and how their contributions helped the field of Mathematics grow and prosper.
Singh, conversely, speaks about the lesser known Mathematicians and formulas. Lesser known to those outside of the Math circle. Like the significance of the number 1729 that appears many times in Futurama, explainations of binary code and cryptography, and narcisstic numbers which I had no idea existed.
Singh does a sort of good job explaining the math definitions and various formulas for the laymen to understand. Personally, I felt he got to boggled down in all of the technical jargon but when he explained the history of a certain part of Mathematics in his little anecdotes, he did that beautifully.
April 21, 2016
The Simpsons is an animated sitcom about a fictional "middle American" family. The series has been running since 1989 and is currently airing their 27th season.
I haven't watched this show for many years now, but there was a time when I used to be obsessed with the show. I used to trawl over the internet in my quest to search for hidden and obscure references that appeared on the show, and for their meanings. One of the earliest references was from the first episode when baby Maggie stacks her alphabet blocks to create EMCSQU which is in reference to Einstein’s famous scientific equation E = mc2.
It's these references that make the show, whether they're mathematical, philosophical, political, historical or otherwise. It's not that the writers aim to poke fun of these subject matters but to make them fun.
Simon Singh does a wonderful job in explaining the mathematics in an accessible way. But by no means is it a book for everyone. If you're the type of person who sweats at the thought of numbers or Calculus then please do not read this book.
This book is not so much as about the Simpsons as it is about the writers, in particular David S. Cohen and his colleagues, and their favourite areas of mathematics.
To name but a few this book covers Pi, Fermat's last theorem, the Rubiks cube, Six degrees of separation of Kevin Bacon, Moneyball, women in mathematics and Sophie Germain, special numbers: (such as Mersenne primes, Perfect numbers, Narcissistic numbers, Vampire numbers, sublime numbers), rock paper scissors and non-transition dice, and much much more.
There are special chapters called "Examination Papers" that appear after every 3-4 chapters and they consist of random mathematics humour, most of which are cringe worthy.
The last four chapters delve into the mathematics of Futurama. In these chapters, my favourite mathematical reference comes from the number 1729 in homage to Ramanujan, an Indian mathematician. He once made a comment over a taxicab number 1729 being the smallest number that is the sum of two cubes in three different ways. For those who know the show, 1729 is the serial number for Bender, the registry number for the spaceship Nimbus, and keeps cropping up in episodes of Futurama.
For personal reason more than anything else, I would rate this book a 5. It's certainly one of the funniest mathematics books I have ever read.
I haven't watched this show for many years now, but there was a time when I used to be obsessed with the show. I used to trawl over the internet in my quest to search for hidden and obscure references that appeared on the show, and for their meanings. One of the earliest references was from the first episode when baby Maggie stacks her alphabet blocks to create EMCSQU which is in reference to Einstein’s famous scientific equation E = mc2.
It's these references that make the show, whether they're mathematical, philosophical, political, historical or otherwise. It's not that the writers aim to poke fun of these subject matters but to make them fun.
Simon Singh does a wonderful job in explaining the mathematics in an accessible way. But by no means is it a book for everyone. If you're the type of person who sweats at the thought of numbers or Calculus then please do not read this book.
This book is not so much as about the Simpsons as it is about the writers, in particular David S. Cohen and his colleagues, and their favourite areas of mathematics.
To name but a few this book covers Pi, Fermat's last theorem, the Rubiks cube, Six degrees of separation of Kevin Bacon, Moneyball, women in mathematics and Sophie Germain, special numbers: (such as Mersenne primes, Perfect numbers, Narcissistic numbers, Vampire numbers, sublime numbers), rock paper scissors and non-transition dice, and much much more.
There are special chapters called "Examination Papers" that appear after every 3-4 chapters and they consist of random mathematics humour, most of which are cringe worthy.
The last four chapters delve into the mathematics of Futurama. In these chapters, my favourite mathematical reference comes from the number 1729 in homage to Ramanujan, an Indian mathematician. He once made a comment over a taxicab number 1729 being the smallest number that is the sum of two cubes in three different ways. For those who know the show, 1729 is the serial number for Bender, the registry number for the spaceship Nimbus, and keeps cropping up in episodes of Futurama.
For personal reason more than anything else, I would rate this book a 5. It's certainly one of the funniest mathematics books I have ever read.
May 24, 2016
I discovered The Simpsons in college and it took me binge watching handful of seasons to understand the nerdgasm that surrounds it. There is, of course, the representation of a family residing in suburbia and their everyday interactions with townsfolk. But it is the little things that the writers put there that makes this show stand apart from its contemporaries and give it the strength to hold out on its own for more than two decades. In a way, The Simpsons has been around a little less than as long as I have and oddly, its a comforting thought.
Simon Singh picks handful of instances where the writers had a little more fun than usual and tried to pull the readers deeper into the Simpsons universe. Simpsons are not just known for being culturally relevant making poignant observations on politics, history, pop culture, science and mathematics. The show has an impressive list of guest stars and sometimes they even go without credits (like Micheal Jackson).
Mathematics is less frequent and when they bring it out, its generally with a bang. The writers don't hold back on their academia and go full throttle; be it Maggie's building blocks, Lisa's Sabermetrics, Homer's Fermat solution and so forth. Simon Singh picks these moments, gives their historical importance and then further provides its relevance in the episode. It is fascinating how far a bunch of people can go just to write couple of lines on a board that just stays in the background. Its their love for mathematics and all things science (physics, mostly) that draws people into this world. If not for anything, just to see if the writers are instigating a private conversations with the viewers by hiding messages in plain sight.
This isn't really a book that one can listen to. Wouldn't make sense for the most part. It wouldn't make sense if a reader isn't aware about Simpsons or have some affection for the show and its characters. In reality, its a book written by fan for fans.
Simon Singh picks handful of instances where the writers had a little more fun than usual and tried to pull the readers deeper into the Simpsons universe. Simpsons are not just known for being culturally relevant making poignant observations on politics, history, pop culture, science and mathematics. The show has an impressive list of guest stars and sometimes they even go without credits (like Micheal Jackson).
Mathematics is less frequent and when they bring it out, its generally with a bang. The writers don't hold back on their academia and go full throttle; be it Maggie's building blocks, Lisa's Sabermetrics, Homer's Fermat solution and so forth. Simon Singh picks these moments, gives their historical importance and then further provides its relevance in the episode. It is fascinating how far a bunch of people can go just to write couple of lines on a board that just stays in the background. Its their love for mathematics and all things science (physics, mostly) that draws people into this world. If not for anything, just to see if the writers are instigating a private conversations with the viewers by hiding messages in plain sight.
This isn't really a book that one can listen to. Wouldn't make sense for the most part. It wouldn't make sense if a reader isn't aware about Simpsons or have some affection for the show and its characters. In reality, its a book written by fan for fans.
December 14, 2014
I love Maths and I really enjoyed other books by Simon Singh, but this book feels incoherent throughout. I kept thinking that this is the kind of book you'd have on a shelf by a toilet - something to glance at for a couple of minutes and then get on with your day. The stories don't flow well together, and it feels like he is racing to get every single mathematical (and some physics) nods that has ever happened in the Simpsons (and Futurama).
Not a book to sit and read, but OK to flick through if you are into both Mathematics and the Simpsons. I actually preferred the jokes at the end of chapters rather than the content of the book itself.
Not a book to sit and read, but OK to flick through if you are into both Mathematics and the Simpsons. I actually preferred the jokes at the end of chapters rather than the content of the book itself.
May 14, 2018
Es un libro lleno de anécdotas sobre los Simpsons, se descubre mucho sobre los guionistas, resulta que muchos de ellos tienen una sólida formación como matemáticos, lo que hace pensar de otra manera los episodios. Es bastante entretenido, toma situaciones concretas de algunos capítulos y hace desarrollo sobre las ideas matemáticas, cómo funcionan muchos libros de divulgación, eso hace que sea interesante para un curioso de las matemáticas.
Want to read
February 12, 2019Saw this mentioned on Numberphile (most recent episode about Futurama math easter eggs) and it appeals to my geeky nature in so many ways. My Library also has the audiobook, but I think I'm going to go with the ebook so that I can see the equations; my brain works better when I can visualize the numbers and math.
January 6, 2014
Simon Singh did and didn't take a different turn from his previous work, in my mind. I grew up captivated by The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography and Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem as both introductions and textbooks.
This book is different, and so is the version of myself that is reading it. I was given this book as a gift, and that made it all of the more appropriate to read it for pleasure (laughter). Most of the equations were things I'd seen before and/or were familiar with, and that only added to what I felt were Singh's effective purposes with this work.
One seemed to be, as usual, communicating to people about math. This he did with his usual charm and success, I feel.
Another was to really create a narrative around how The Simpson's / Futurama writership acquired their taste for the mathematical, and what self-sustaining culture / legacy has been left behind the first pioneers at the writer's table.
Lastly, and I think most interestingly, there are some key insights, drawn from Singh's own personal experience as well as those of the writers, about how math can be / is / should be actually funny or humorous at all. That this is a possibility really may need to be introduced to some readers, and it is important that this is addressed.
For me, I have to give it 4 stars, in part, because of the "exams" spaced throughout the book with collection of classic (and new to me) math jokes. I'd say the book is worth the read even if you know nothing about The Simpson's and didn't take anything away from the quotes or material from the show, and only looked at it as an excerpt from the NCMJ, the new catalogue of math jokes.
This book is different, and so is the version of myself that is reading it. I was given this book as a gift, and that made it all of the more appropriate to read it for pleasure (laughter). Most of the equations were things I'd seen before and/or were familiar with, and that only added to what I felt were Singh's effective purposes with this work.
One seemed to be, as usual, communicating to people about math. This he did with his usual charm and success, I feel.
Another was to really create a narrative around how The Simpson's / Futurama writership acquired their taste for the mathematical, and what self-sustaining culture / legacy has been left behind the first pioneers at the writer's table.
Lastly, and I think most interestingly, there are some key insights, drawn from Singh's own personal experience as well as those of the writers, about how math can be / is / should be actually funny or humorous at all. That this is a possibility really may need to be introduced to some readers, and it is important that this is addressed.
For me, I have to give it 4 stars, in part, because of the "exams" spaced throughout the book with collection of classic (and new to me) math jokes. I'd say the book is worth the read even if you know nothing about The Simpson's and didn't take anything away from the quotes or material from the show, and only looked at it as an excerpt from the NCMJ, the new catalogue of math jokes.
May 20, 2014
I was watching some special features on a Futurama DVD and one was all about the hidden meanings in signs and numbers that appear in the background of the show. It seems that every number that appears has some mathematical significance. Hence, when I saw this book I was very intrigued.
It turns out that the majority of the writers on the Simpsons and Futurama are big old nerdy-nerds with masters degrees in some form of science. Simon Singh went through a number of stories where certain writers had to choose between going further down the academic path and being a highly-regarded expert in their field...or becoming a comedy writer. Spoiler, they all chose the comedy path.
It was really interesting to hear about the parallels between setting up and delivering a good quality joke and solving a mathematical proof. For both you have an idea of the destination and you need to find the simplest and most plausible way to get there. They're both about puzzles that need to be solved.
The maths side of this book is a little dumbed down, which was disappointing but what you'd expect. I was hoping for more examples and more depth but, in fairness, there is a link to a website with all of this on there so I'll have to have a look.
All up it was an easy and enjoyable read and it gave me a lot more respect for Matt Groening and his teams. After reading this book I'll be watching these shows with the remote in hand and my finger hovering over the pause button.
It turns out that the majority of the writers on the Simpsons and Futurama are big old nerdy-nerds with masters degrees in some form of science. Simon Singh went through a number of stories where certain writers had to choose between going further down the academic path and being a highly-regarded expert in their field...or becoming a comedy writer. Spoiler, they all chose the comedy path.
It was really interesting to hear about the parallels between setting up and delivering a good quality joke and solving a mathematical proof. For both you have an idea of the destination and you need to find the simplest and most plausible way to get there. They're both about puzzles that need to be solved.
The maths side of this book is a little dumbed down, which was disappointing but what you'd expect. I was hoping for more examples and more depth but, in fairness, there is a link to a website with all of this on there so I'll have to have a look.
All up it was an easy and enjoyable read and it gave me a lot more respect for Matt Groening and his teams. After reading this book I'll be watching these shows with the remote in hand and my finger hovering over the pause button.
April 26, 2015
Not sure who this book is aimed at
Simpsons Fans?
Then why explain the basics, everyone knows the couch scene at the beginning changes each episode!
Maths Fans?
High in mathematic principles etc, then explains what a prime number is at least 3 times in the first third of the book, but then skates over the topics which need a little more depth!
Too many tedious side notes, and why on earth is the last quarter of the book being about Futurama - Not enough material to make a follow up book perhaps.
Overall it would have made a good occasional column in a newspaper, not a book.
Glad I borrowed and didn't buy.
Simpsons Fans?
Then why explain the basics, everyone knows the couch scene at the beginning changes each episode!
Maths Fans?
High in mathematic principles etc, then explains what a prime number is at least 3 times in the first third of the book, but then skates over the topics which need a little more depth!
Too many tedious side notes, and why on earth is the last quarter of the book being about Futurama - Not enough material to make a follow up book perhaps.
Overall it would have made a good occasional column in a newspaper, not a book.
Glad I borrowed and didn't buy.
September 24, 2017
Після того, як дізнаєшся про цілу купу математичних пасхалок і хто стоїть за сценаріями до "Сімпсонів" і "Футурами", починаєш по інакшому дивитись на ці мультсеріали.
Фанатам "Сімпсонів", "Футурами" і математики однозначно рекомендую!
Фанатам "Сімпсонів", "Футурами" і математики однозначно рекомендую!
March 7, 2021
Dr. Simon Singh is one of many from the Simpsons animation writer’s stable with advanced math , science or engineer degrees. Between them they have made a game of sneaking in, however nano-briefly a variety of mathematical references. The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets is a collection of the Easter Eggs with a few chapters more from the Futurama Animation TV Show. There are a few notions that make this book of interest.
The first, is that it is for many, counter intuitive that Mathematicians Scientists and Engineers with advanced degrees and from top ranked universities would have neither the sense of humor, or the willingness to spend so much time from their very nerdy topics. Likewise their writing skills would not include the ability to write anything not automatically boring, This like all such thinking is a matter of ill informed prejudices. Those with little contact with the academic world have the same uneducated opinions as do those who convert lack of knowledge of a large group of people into reason to denigrate them.
Year after the Simpsons and Futurama, another show, Big Bang Theory, would produce ten seasons of wildly popular culture on little more than the premise that highly educated academics are socially inept. Ultimately the brainiacs would come to depend on kind not as smart person to lead them back towards being indistinguishable from form everyone else.
The apparent contradiction between a nerdy staff of Ph. D writers yielding so many years of funny entertainment is a reason for reading this book. Unfortunately, the bulk of it is only going to be of interest to those who care to and can follow what is a lot of mathematical concepts. Dr, Singh does what he can to keep the technical jargon to a minimum and to make his explanation meaningful to those, like myself will some background and a willingness to be lead Too often the topic is too remote for openness to be sufficient. For anyone who automatically loses interest when the subject is Math, the title alone should be fair warning.
Just being a fan of the Simpsons (or Futurama) is not going to be enough to keep you reading.
If you are mathematically inclined, the book may hold your interest, but if you are trained in the topic, you may find the Math of Poets approach condescending or worse, incomplete.
There is another readership for The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets. Easter Egg hunters. The staff invented a trick of inserting sometimes as little as a single frame of some numbers that have some usually obscure interest to Math specialists. In other words, these references are almost or in fact invisible to someone just watching the show but can be seen, and registered only by those who playback the program, one frame at a time for the purpose of isolating, then understanding to what that particular number refers. For these readers, I wish you happy hinting and hope that by reading the book you can settle among your fellow hunters, who collected and properly tagged them all.
The first, is that it is for many, counter intuitive that Mathematicians Scientists and Engineers with advanced degrees and from top ranked universities would have neither the sense of humor, or the willingness to spend so much time from their very nerdy topics. Likewise their writing skills would not include the ability to write anything not automatically boring, This like all such thinking is a matter of ill informed prejudices. Those with little contact with the academic world have the same uneducated opinions as do those who convert lack of knowledge of a large group of people into reason to denigrate them.
Year after the Simpsons and Futurama, another show, Big Bang Theory, would produce ten seasons of wildly popular culture on little more than the premise that highly educated academics are socially inept. Ultimately the brainiacs would come to depend on kind not as smart person to lead them back towards being indistinguishable from form everyone else.
The apparent contradiction between a nerdy staff of Ph. D writers yielding so many years of funny entertainment is a reason for reading this book. Unfortunately, the bulk of it is only going to be of interest to those who care to and can follow what is a lot of mathematical concepts. Dr, Singh does what he can to keep the technical jargon to a minimum and to make his explanation meaningful to those, like myself will some background and a willingness to be lead Too often the topic is too remote for openness to be sufficient. For anyone who automatically loses interest when the subject is Math, the title alone should be fair warning.
Just being a fan of the Simpsons (or Futurama) is not going to be enough to keep you reading.
If you are mathematically inclined, the book may hold your interest, but if you are trained in the topic, you may find the Math of Poets approach condescending or worse, incomplete.
There is another readership for The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets. Easter Egg hunters. The staff invented a trick of inserting sometimes as little as a single frame of some numbers that have some usually obscure interest to Math specialists. In other words, these references are almost or in fact invisible to someone just watching the show but can be seen, and registered only by those who playback the program, one frame at a time for the purpose of isolating, then understanding to what that particular number refers. For these readers, I wish you happy hinting and hope that by reading the book you can settle among your fellow hunters, who collected and properly tagged them all.
January 28, 2016
I had heard several interviews with Simon Singh about this book when it came out, so I knew it would be a fun read, but it was much more enjoyable than I expected. I had it on the shelf for a while, however, because I was uncertain about whether the fact that I hadn't taken calculus for over a decade (and don't have much cause to use maths other than stats in my work) would detract from my enjoyment of the book. It most certainly didn't. For math geeks and math-phobes alike, this book certainly had a lot to offer, and just like the Simpsons, there are different layers of knowledge in the book, with math lovers likely getting even more out of it. I do think you need to be a Simpsons fan to enjoy the book, but there are plenty of those around. I especially like the fact that Singh wove narratives about important historical mathematicians throughout the book, making the book a series of history lessons, maths lessons, nerdy jokes, and Simpsons trivia catalogue all in one. I felt a little cheated by the fact that the last few chapters covered Futurama, which isn't may favourite, but I certainly enjoyed reading those chapters and thought they were well done. There are periodic maths "quizzes" throughout the book, which test your level of knowledge and proclivity for maths humour, getting progressively more difficult. I must admit that I didn't laugh too much (which is how you score yourself) not because I didn't get the jokes - most of them weren't terribly obscure - but because I guess I just don't think maths jokes are all that funny, I guess. I did find myself wishing I was in a profession with so many nerdy inside jokes, so I think that's a sign of success to have a reader walking away with a desire to be part of the cool club of mathematicians.
August 6, 2015
How do you make anything much less funny? Explain the jokes. This was boring as fuck.
Here's a very accurate review by Jheurf:
Here's a very accurate review by Jheurf:
Here’s pretty much how every chapter is structured:^Like rather than cover a whole bunch of math jokes in brief to show overall trends or tie together several math jokes at once thematically, it just takes a joke that doesn't need that much explaining, throws math theory at you in some haphazard way, some stupid anecdote about where someone went to college, and then repeats it. So yeah. I think it's probably far too low level for math nerds as even I wasn't really unfamiliar with too many of the concepts, but it also doesn't really give you enough information to learn anything new.
A paragraph or 2 about a specific Simpsons episode’s math reference (a lot of the text being the episode’s name repeated many, many times)
A few pages about the script writers’ math pedigree and whom they know in the math community, with maybe a call back to the show’s reference.
Pages and pages of detailed math history that goes from minutia to brain-dead simple.
Then a quick paragraph to conclude and remind us that we are indeed reading a book supposedly about the Simpsons.
September 16, 2020
Την επόμενη φορά που θα δω επεισόδιο των Simpsons θα είμαι πιο παρατηρητικος στα.. Κρυμμενα μαθηματικά. Αρκετές ιστορίες μαθηματικών, οι περισσότερες ενδιαφέρουσες. Τελικά οι πρώτοι αριθμοί ειναι παντού. Ακόμη και στα κινούμενα σχέδια. Ανεξάντλητοι. Μάλλον.
December 3, 2015
this is more than a book of Simpsons trivia, it's a way to learn and refresh complex math concepts. I was genuinely excited about what I was learning, from theorems, to math history to the binary code for 666 (1010011010.. from memory, ya!). while the actual Simpsons math references are mainly subtle freeze frame gags, the knowledge needed to understand the gags is fascinating. at the end of each section we get an "exam" or a set of math jokes. we pass the exam if the jokes make us laugh. I have spent the last few days laughing at some incredibly dorky jokes. for math nerds and math newbies alike
April 10, 2017
It was really nice. It had some high maths,so it's not for everyone.It was a revelation though cause it makes you think that watching the episodes its not enough. Ps. Let's make Fox start Futurama again
April 1, 2016
Habla demasiado de matemáticas y poquillo de Los Simpson. Quizás no es muy adecuado para alguien no matemático y algo aburrido para un fan de Los Simpson. Lo mejor es la parte que habla de Futurama.
June 4, 2018
Simon Singh takes the reader on a tour of some of the mathematics that appeared in the prime-time cartoon The Simpsons. Apparently, the majority of the writers for the show were schooled in mathematics, physics, or engineering, so they are fond of including mathematics into the show, a good deal in cameo. The writers sometimes portray Bart, Homer, and Lisa as using mathematics in some of their projects. Some of what Singh covers are the appearance of π, a curious version of Fermat’s Last Theorem, six degrees of separation, statistics in a baseball episode, prime numbers, and infinity. He explains the writers use of mathematical humor. He also covers the work of some of the writers who branched off and worked on another prime-time cartoon Futurama. In connection with mathematical humor Singh provides five interludes of mathematical jokes with each interlude using more and more complex mathematics. Finally, he includes five appendixes that go deeper into some of the mathematics covered in the main text.
I only have one oddball comment to make on the text at Kindle location 3149. It is in one of the chapters on Futurama. Singh writes: “One of the Professor’s [Philo T. Farnsworth] oddest inventions is the Cool-O-Meter, which accurately assesses the level of cool possessed by a person . . .” This reminds me of a time when I was in a mental hospital for major depression along time ago. This other patient (of which I do not remember his name) and I would act as cool police. We would observe other patients and staff to see if they did any uncool acts. And, of course, sometimes we would call each other on our own uncool acts.
I thought the book was rather interesting. I have watch the Simpson’s from time to time and never caught any mathematics appearing in the episodes I watched. So, in a way the book was an eye-opener. I was also amused at some of the mathematical jokes. One of my favorite chapters was on six degrees of separation, which is about the connectedness of people to each other. Research has shown that in some cases we are only six people away from knowing a complete stranger. Duncan Watt did an experiment where he had people get in contact with persons not known by them (complete strangers), and the average number of contacts to be made was six, hence six degrees of separation. In this chapter they explained the Erdos number. Paul Erdos was a Hungarian mathematician that was famous for collaborating with other mathematicians. The Erdos number was one if the mathematician coauthored a paper with Erdos himself. A Erdos number of two was assigned if a mathematician coauthored a paper with another who coauthored a paper with Erdos, and so on down the line. Erdos himself has an Erdos number of zero. Another favorite chapter was on the misquoted of the Pythagorean theorem by the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, which also was feature in one of the Simpson’s episodes.
I would recommend this book for any one interested in mathematics and its use in humor, or is a fan of the show. Not interested in mathematics or the show I would say do not bother with the book.
I only have one oddball comment to make on the text at Kindle location 3149. It is in one of the chapters on Futurama. Singh writes: “One of the Professor’s [Philo T. Farnsworth] oddest inventions is the Cool-O-Meter, which accurately assesses the level of cool possessed by a person . . .” This reminds me of a time when I was in a mental hospital for major depression along time ago. This other patient (of which I do not remember his name) and I would act as cool police. We would observe other patients and staff to see if they did any uncool acts. And, of course, sometimes we would call each other on our own uncool acts.
I thought the book was rather interesting. I have watch the Simpson’s from time to time and never caught any mathematics appearing in the episodes I watched. So, in a way the book was an eye-opener. I was also amused at some of the mathematical jokes. One of my favorite chapters was on six degrees of separation, which is about the connectedness of people to each other. Research has shown that in some cases we are only six people away from knowing a complete stranger. Duncan Watt did an experiment where he had people get in contact with persons not known by them (complete strangers), and the average number of contacts to be made was six, hence six degrees of separation. In this chapter they explained the Erdos number. Paul Erdos was a Hungarian mathematician that was famous for collaborating with other mathematicians. The Erdos number was one if the mathematician coauthored a paper with Erdos himself. A Erdos number of two was assigned if a mathematician coauthored a paper with another who coauthored a paper with Erdos, and so on down the line. Erdos himself has an Erdos number of zero. Another favorite chapter was on the misquoted of the Pythagorean theorem by the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, which also was feature in one of the Simpson’s episodes.
I would recommend this book for any one interested in mathematics and its use in humor, or is a fan of the show. Not interested in mathematics or the show I would say do not bother with the book.
December 10, 2020
This is a rather nice book that looks at examples of mathematics, mainly number theory, in the episodes of the Simpsons, the TV animated series everyone has seen. It tells how people with PhDs in Physics and Maths ended up as Simpson script writers, and how they went about introducing math jokes as part of the script or as Easter eggs that could be ween only if you freezed the frame and looked really, really, closely.
You end up understanding how plots are created, the career of many people after they do their viva, and some tidbits in mathematics. Nice stuff it you want to get kids interested in them, or simply want to have examples for conferences or table talk.
You end up understanding how plots are created, the career of many people after they do their viva, and some tidbits in mathematics. Nice stuff it you want to get kids interested in them, or simply want to have examples for conferences or table talk.
December 21, 2020
Ο Simon Singh έχει κάνει φοβερή δουλειά αναλύοντας ακόμα και προχωρημένα θεωρήματα μαθηματικών με εξαιρετικά καλή προσέγγιση για κάθε αναγνώστη. Αν τα μαθηματικά σε κάνουν να ιδρώνεις και μόνο στη σκέψη δεν είναι ένα βιβλίο που θα εκτιμήσεις.
Το έργο αυτό δεν αφορά τους Simpsons σαν σειρά αυτή κάθε αυτή αλλά κυρίως το πάθος των συγγραφέων για τον αγαπημένο τους τομέα, τα μαθηματικά.
Θέματα όπως ο κύβος του Ρούμπικ, το τελευταίο θεώρημα του Φερμα, η συμπερμετρική προσέγγιση στο ποδόσφαιρο, η τέταρτη διάσταση, το π, παιχνίδια τύχης, αριθμοί με ιδιαιτερότητες, οι γυναίκες των μαθηματικών και πολλά άλλα ενδιαφέροντα, περιγράφονται στο βιβλίο αυτό με τρόπο ευχαριστώ και πολλές φορές σατυρικό για τον αναγνώστη.
Σαν μπόνους κάθε τόσο ο συγγραφέας τοποθετεί ερωτήματα πάνω στα θεωρήματα κάθε κεφαλαίου σε μορφή κουίζ τα οποία εξιταρουν και "γαργαλουν" το μυαλό σου.
Το έργο αυτό δεν αφορά τους Simpsons σαν σειρά αυτή κάθε αυτή αλλά κυρίως το πάθος των συγγραφέων για τον αγαπημένο τους τομέα, τα μαθηματικά.
Θέματα όπως ο κύβος του Ρούμπικ, το τελευταίο θεώρημα του Φερμα, η συμπερμετρική προσέγγιση στο ποδόσφαιρο, η τέταρτη διάσταση, το π, παιχνίδια τύχης, αριθμοί με ιδιαιτερότητες, οι γυναίκες των μαθηματικών και πολλά άλλα ενδιαφέροντα, περιγράφονται στο βιβλίο αυτό με τρόπο ευχαριστώ και πολλές φορές σατυρικό για τον αναγνώστη.
Σαν μπόνους κάθε τόσο ο συγγραφέας τοποθετεί ερωτήματα πάνω στα θεωρήματα κάθε κεφαλαίου σε μορφή κουίζ τα οποία εξιταρουν και "γαργαλουν" το μυαλό σου.
May 20, 2021
Really interesting! Lots of the reviews of this book are by people who haven't watched The Simpsons? It's been on TV since 1989!!
Lots of detail, my maths knowledge has not been refreshed since GCSE Maths in 2010 so the concepts were difficult to grasp. But the book is well written, insightful and thought provoking. Maybe there was a bit too much focus on Futurama but those sections weren't unenjoyable.
Lots of detail, my maths knowledge has not been refreshed since GCSE Maths in 2010 so the concepts were difficult to grasp. But the book is well written, insightful and thought provoking. Maybe there was a bit too much focus on Futurama but those sections weren't unenjoyable.
June 11, 2020
Don’t read this book if you don’t like math. I found it amusing ,as I am the daughter of a mathematician. It’s amazing such mathematical minds could write such a great show based on mathematical equations...
It’s a quick fun read if you enjoy math..
It’s a quick fun read if you enjoy math..
February 1, 2019
Nice "timepass read". I haven't watched too much of the Simpsons, but that didn't prevent me from enjoying this book. Most of it was a sort of "revision" for me, having come across the mathematical concepts at some time or the other in high school / college.
May 9, 2022
Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass die Simpsons so voller Mathematik stecken...
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