Imaginary Numbers

Imaginary Numbers: An Anthology of Marvelous Mathematical Stories, Diversions, Poems, and Musings A wildly inventive treasury of the most artful words ever written about numbers. Mathematics and writing may seem to exist in opposite realms, but as William Frucht reveals, the world of numbers has always held a special fascination for men and women of letters. Imaginary Numbers displays the fruits of this cross-fertilization by collecting the best creative writing about mathematical topics from the past hundred years. In this engaging anthology, we can explore the many ways writers have played with mathematical ideas. Delve into the fourth dimension and infinity, into fantasy and philosophy with such masters as Lewis Carroll, Edwin Abbott Abbott, Philip K. Dick, Martin Gardner, and Alan Lightman. Revel in renowned tales by Italo Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges, cult classics such as Connie Willis's "The Schwartzschild Radius,"and lesser-known gems by such visionaries as William Gibson and A. K. Dewdney. For mathematical mavens and literary lions alike, Imaginary Numbers adds up to one fascinating read. contents 1 Italo Calvino The Form of Space 1 2 Rudy Rucker A New Golden Age 11 3 Lewis Carroll A Serpent with Corners (from A Tangled Tale) 21 4 J. A. Lindon A Positive Reminder 27 5 Raymond Smullyan How Kazir Won His Wife 29 6 Alan Lightman 11 May 1905 (from Einstein's Dreams) 39 7 Roald Hoffman Why Does Disorder Increase in the Same Direction of Time as That in Which the Universe Expands? 43 8 Philip K. Dick The Golden Man 45 9 Hilbert Schenck The Morphology of the Kirkham Wreck 79 10 Abner Shimony Resolution of the Paradox: A Philosophical Puppet Play 111 11 Piet Hein Parallelism 113 12 Douglas Hofstadter Prelude . . . (from Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid) 115 13 Stanislaw Lem The Third Sally, or The Dragons of Probability (from The Seven Sallies of Trurl and Klapaucius) 127 14 Edwin Abbott Abbott Concerning Irregular Figures (from Flatland) 143 15 Andrew Marvell The Definition of Love 149 16 A. K. Dewdney On Fiddib Har (from The Planiverse: Computer Contact with a Two-Dimensional World) 151 17 Martin Gardner The Church of the Fourth Dimension 169 18 Stanislaw Lem The Extraordinary Hotel, or the Thousand and First Journey of Ion the Quiet 181 19 Anonymous Ten Weary, Footsore Travelers 191 20 Racter From The Policeman's Beard Is Half-Constructed 193 21 William Gibson Burning Chrome 195 22 Fritz Leiber Gonna Roll the Bones 217