Los Simpson y las matemáticas

by Simon Singh

300 pages

Spanish language

Published May 7, 2015 by Ariel, Ediciones Culturales Paidós.

ISBN:: 978-607-747-071-7
OCLC Number:: 932163102

(17 reviews)

"Aunque muchos han tratado de encontrar enseñanzas filosóficas, psicológicas o incluso literarias en Los Simpson, lo cierto es que si hay una disciplina por la que sus guionistas sientes devoción, esa es las matemáticas. Ya en su episodio piloto, Bart, el genio, aparece una sutil broma sobre ecuaciones diferenciales. Los conceptos más sencillos hasta complejas paradojas, la serie ha recorrido en sus más de veinte años en antena, todas las ramas de las matemáticas. Los Simpson y las matemáticas es un libro para amantes de la disciplina, para seguidores de la serie, y, muy especialmente, para aquellos que quieran adentrarse en la disciplina de una forma divertida y amena." -- publisher's or seller's website.

"Simon Singh, author of the bestsellers Fermat's Enigma, The Code Book, and The Big Bang, offers fascinating new insights into the celebrated television series The Simpsons: That the show drip-feeds morsels of number theory into the minds of its viewers--indeed, that there are so many mathematical references in the show, and in its sister program, Futurama, that they could form the basis of an entire university course. Recounting memorable episodes from "Bart the Genius" to "Homer3," Singh brings alive intriguing and meaningful mathematical concepts--ranging from the mathematics of pi and the paradox of infinity to the origin of numbers and the most profound outstanding problems that haunt today's generation of mathematicians. In the process, he illuminates key moments in the history of mathematics, and introduces us to The Simpsons' brilliant writing team--the likes of David X. Cohen, Al Jean, Jeff Westbrook, and Stewart Burns, all of whom have various advanced degrees in mathematics, physics, and other sciences. Based on interviews with the writers of The Simpsons and replete with images from the shows, facsimiles of scripts, paintings and drawings, and other imagery, The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets will give anyone who reads it an entirely new insight into the most successful show in television history." -- records for English editions.

14 editions

Chris Aldrich reviewed The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets by Simon Singh

Review of 'The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I'm both a math junkie and fan of the Simpsons. Singh's book is generally excellent and well written and covers a broad range of mathematical areas. I'm a major fan of his book [b:Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe|131304|Big Bang The Origin of the Universe|Simon Singh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440656279s/131304.jpg|1608124], but find myself wanting much more from this effort. Much of my problem stems from my very deep knowledge of math and its history as well as having read most of the vignettes covered here in other general popular texts multiple times. Fortunately most readers won't suffer from this and will hopefully find some interesting tidbits both about the Simpsons and math here to whet their appetites.

There were several spots at which I felt that Singh stretched a bit too far in attempting to tie the Simpsons to "mathematics" and possibly worse, several spots where he took deliberate detours into tangential subjects that had absolutely no relation to the Simpsons, but these are ultimately good for the broader public reading what may be the only math-related book they pick up this decade.

This could be considered a modern-day version of [a:E.T. Bell|15120781|Et Bell|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s [b:Men of Mathematics|21853322|Men of Mathematics (Touchstone Books)|Eric Temple Bell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1396801069s/21853322.jpg|1944505] but with an overly healthy dose of side-entertainment via the Simpsons and Futurama to help the medicine go down.