Had been missing John Derbyshire’s words on NRO and got lucky in the last week with his April Diary and then an account of a few days at the meeting of the American Institute of Mathematics. Derb is, I imagine, a much better math mind than he claims but even at a much lower level (like my own) there’s a lot of fun, as well as instruction, to be had from popular discussions in the field. Try something like Isaac Asimov’s 3.1416 and All That. It’s got good discovery stories, quirky personalities, some comedy, and lucid presentation of ideas to stretch and exercise the mind.



Or, if you’re a fan of mysteries, find a copy of the short story The Zero Clue and the great Rex Stout’s great (in several senses) Nero Wolfe. The story – in the collection Three Men Out -- hinges on knowledge of one of the seminal triumphs of number theory and makes reference to Lancelot Hogben’s Mathematics for the Million. That last a very fine survey itself, and clearly the author’s parents had read their Walter Scott. More? Here’s what must be close to a definitive list of fiction with mathematical background or theme. More serious? Here's the Basic Library List from The Mathematical Association of America.



Just about any object or idea can be seen more clearly when you've got mathematics in your background. Let your mind dance a little in the numbers field.