Reality Conditions

Where can you hear an old man in a nursing home tell of how he disproved Goldbach's Conjecture as part of an undergraduate research project? Get inside the mind of James Clerk Maxwell as he discovers electro-magnetic waves? Witness the 19th century's greatest mathematician finally get the credit she was denied by sexism and murder? In Reality Conditions, a collection of short stories spanning a variety of genres, you can share in these and other fictional mathematical experiences. Each story is a mathematical journey designed to entertain, educate and tantalize. There is something here for everyone: humor, drama, the little details to the big picture, science fiction to true histories. Through these stories, those with little mathematical background will encounter some of the most interesting parts of the field of mathematics for the first time. Even professional mathematicians will be captivated by ideas that take us to the limits of knowledge, addressing the questions of how mathematics is related to the human mind and how it is related to reality. The book is perfect for leisure reading. Join one of the leading experts in the area of mathematical fiction as he takes us on a whirlwind tour of mathematics, both real and imaginary.

Alex Kasman received his PhD in mathematics from Boston University in 1995. Alex Kasman is a leading expert on “mathematical fiction”, frequently being asked to review it, comment on it, or merely being mentioned in connection to it in books, magazines and journals. His website at http://math.cofc.edu/kasman/MATHFICT/ contains a comprehensive list of works of mathematical fiction and is a resource used those interested in works of fiction with a significant mathematical component. It receives approximately 1000 “hits” per day.