Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.0612300445270.23450@panix3.panix.com>
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.aol.com>, Wryting-L <WRYTING-L@listserv.wvu.edu>,
Cyberculture <cyberculture@zacha.org>
Subject: [evol-psych] Digest Number 2890 (fwd) - math and Simpsons
Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 04:45:49 -0500 (EST)
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 30 Dec 2006 09:39:42 -0000 From: evolutionary-psychology@yahoogroups.com Reply-To: No Reply <notify-dg-evolutionary-psychology@yahoogroups.com> To: evolutionary-psychology@yahoogroups.com Subject: [evol-psych] Digest Number 2890 There is 1 message in this issue. Topics in this digest: 1. Article: Mathematical references abound on The Simpsons From: Robert Karl Stonjek Message ________________________________________________________________________ 1. Article: Mathematical references abound on The Simpsons Posted by: "Robert Karl Stonjek" stonjek@ozemail.com.au r_karl_s Date: Sat Dec 30, 2006 1:36 am ((PST)) Springfield Theory Mathematical references abound on The Simpsons Erica Klarreich In the 1995 Halloween episode of the award-winning animated sitcom The Simpsons, two-dimensional Homer Simpson accidentally jumps into the third dimension. During his journey in this strange world, geometric solids and mathematical formulas float through the air, including an innocent-looking equation: 178212 + 184112 = 192212. Most viewers surely ignored this bit of mathematical gobbledygook. Fox Broadcasting Company On the fan discussion site alt.tv.simpsons, however, the equation caused a bit of a stir. "What's going on, he seems to have disproved Fermat's last theorem!" one fan marveled, referring to the famous claim by Pierre de Fermat-proved just months earlier-that for any exponent n bigger than 2, there are no nonzero whole numbers a, b, and c for which an + bn = cn. The Simpsons equation, if correct, would be a counterexample to the theorem, meaning that the proof had been wrong. Plug the equation into any run-of-the-mill calculator and it seems to check out. The 12th root of 178212 + 184112, according to a calculator, is 1,922. Yet it's easy to see that the equation is false, because the left-hand side is odd, while the right-hand side is an even number. There's no paradox here: It's simply a matter of the calculator's round-off error. To David X. Cohen, the Simpsons writer who concocted the equation, the fans' responses were a source of glee. Cohen had written a computer program specifically to look for what mathematicians call Fermat "near misses": combinations of numbers a, b, c, and n that come so close to satisfying Fermat's equation that they would seem to work when tested on a calculator. Why go to such lengths for a background joke that would flash across the screen in a matter of seconds? Mainly for the fun of it, but also to flex intellectual muscles that don't typically get exercised in Hollywood script rooms: Cohen has a master's degree in computer science. As a mathematically inclined Simpsons writer, Cohen is in good company. Although nobody would call The Simpsons a science show, the writing staff boasts an impressive array of former mathematicians, scientists, and computer scientists. Over the years, they have injected their brand of geeky humor into the show. They've written hundreds of math jokes, ranging in subtlety from Cohen's fake Fermat equation to open jabs at the mathematical illiteracy of the general public. Math has occasionally even provided the theme of an episode. Source: ScienceNews http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060610/bob8.asp Comment: Fermat - huh. Here is Robert's theorem: that for any exponent n bigger than 3, there are no nonzero whole numbers a, b, c and d for which an + bn + cn=dn ie 33 + 43 + 53=63 Note that one of the few Mathematical jokes that has endured the test of time was written by me! Search google with the following string: "Robert Karl Stonjek" erdos ....must write some more.... Posted by Robert Karl Stonjek Messages in this topic (1) ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evolutionary-psychology/ <*> Your email settings: Digest Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evolutionary-psychology/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:evolutionary-psychology-normal@yahoogroups.com mailto:evolutionary-psychology-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: evolutionary-psychology-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------