The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets

Book excerpt: From bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem, a must-have for number lovers and Simpsons fans 'An entertaining picture of the insanely high-minded nature of the Simpsons' writers' Sunday Times 'A valuable, entertaining book that, above all, celebrates a supremely funny, sophisticated show' Financial Times You may have watched hundreds of episodes of The Simpsons (and its sister show Futurama) without ever realising that they contain enough maths to form an entire university course. In The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets, Simon Singh explains how the brilliant writers, some of the mathematicians, have smuggled in mathematical jokes throughout the cartoon's twenty-five year history, exploring everything from to Mersenne primes, from Euler's equation to the unsolved riddle of P vs. NP, from perfect numbers to narcissistic numbers, and much more. With wit, clarity and a true fan's zeal, Singh analyses such memorable episodes as 'Bart the Genius' and 'Homer3' to offer an entirely new insight into the most successful show in television history.