Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Department Colloquium - 2002
Friday, November 1, 3:30p.m., CL126
{Seminars}
Mathematics and Literature: Cross Fertilization
Brett Stevens, Carleton University
Abstract:
The phrase " Mathematics and Literature" most often brings forth images of Alice in Wonderland. The math evoked in that novel is little more than the puzzles that characters pose and the self-reference that pervades the story.
Rarely outside of science fiction do we think of math playing a more essential role in a literary work and many people would be incredulous at the thought of literature spawning interesting mathematical pursuits. I intend to give one primary example of both of these more substantial directions of influence.
In the first half of the talk I will discuss the direct application of Mutually Orthogonal Latin Square by French Oulipoin author Georges Perec to the plot structure of his novel Life a User's Manual, demonstrating how math can play an extremely fertile role in the creation and structure of a novel.
In the second half of my talk, I will investigate a proposed connection between Samuel Beckett's Quad and Dante's Divine Trilogy that poses a very deep and hard combinatorial question about Gray Codes.