''The Mathematical Magpie'' is an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

published in 1962, compiled by

Clifton Fadiman Clifton Paul "Kip" Fadiman (May 15, 1904 – June 20, 1999) was an American intellectual, author, editor, and radio and television personality. He began his work in radio, and switched to television later in his career. Background Born in Brook ...

as a companion volume to his ''

Fantasia Mathematica ''Fantasia Mathematica'' is an anthology published in 1958 containing stories, humor, poems, etc., all on mathematical topics, compiled by Clifton Fadiman. A companion volume was published as '' The Mathematical Magpie'' (1962). The volume cont ...

'' (1958). The volume contains stories, cartoons, essays, rhymes, music, anecdotes, aphorisms, and other oddments. Authors include

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

, and many other renowned figures. A revised edition was issued in 1981 and again in 1997. Although out of print, it is recommended for undergraduate mathematics libraries by the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...

as part of their Basic Library List.''The Mathematical Magpie''

, retrieved 2014-04-19.

*"Cartoon" by

Abner Dean Abner Dean (18 March 1910 – 30 June 1982), born Abner Epstein in New York City, was an American cartoonist. In allegorical or surrealist situations, Dean often depicted extremes of human behavior amid grim, decaying urban settings or barre ...

*"Introduction" by Clifton Fadiman

A Set of Imaginaries

*"Cartoon" by Alan Dunn *"The Feeling of Power" by

*"The Law" by

Robert M. Coates Robert Myron Coates (April 6, 1897 – February 8, 1973) was an American novelist, short story writer and art critic. He published five novels; one classic historical work, ''The Outlaw Years'' (1930) which deals with the history of the land pi ...

*"The Appendix and the Spectacles" by Miles J. Breuer, MD *"

Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originate ...

Versus the Conveyor Belt" by

William Hazlett Upson William Hazlett Upson (September 6, 1891 – February 5, 1975) was an American author, best remembered for a series of stories featuring Alexander Botts, a salesman for the Earthworm Tractor Company. Early life Born at Glen Ridge, New Jersey on ...

*" The Pacifist" by

*"The Hermeneutical Doughnut" by

H. Nearing Jr. Homer C. Nearing Jr (April 15, 1915 – May 29, 2004) was an American professor and author of mathematically themed short fiction, often under the byline "H. Nearing Jr.". Fiction and poetry Nearing is best known for his humorous ''Professor Clea ...

*"Star, Bright" by

Mark Clifton Mark Clifton (1906–1963) was an American science fiction writer, the co-winner of the second Hugo Award for best novel. He began publishing in May 1952 with the widely anthologized story "What Have I Done?". Series About half of his work fa ...

*"'FYI"' by

James Blish James Benjamin “Jimmy” Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his ''Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel ''A Case ...

*"The Vanishing Man" by Richard Hughes *"

The Nine Billion Names of God "The Nine Billion Names of God" is a 1953 science fiction short story by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. The story was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short storie ...

" by Arthur C. Clarke

Comic Sections

*"Three Mathematical Diversions" by

Raymond Queneau Raymond Auguste Queneau (; ; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo (), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau, the only child of Auguste Que ...

*"The Wonderful World of Figures" by

Corey Ford Corey Ford (April 29, 1902 – July 27, 1969) was an American humorist, writer, outdoorsman, and screenwriter. He was friendly with several members of the Algonquin Round Table in New York City and occasionally lunched there. Early years Ford wa ...

*"A B and C – the Human Element in Mathematics" by

Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

*"Cartoon" by

Johnny Hart John Lewis Hart (February 18, 1931 – April 7, 2007) was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strips '' B.C.'' and '' The Wizard of Id''. Brant Parker co-produced and illustrated ''The Wizard of Id''. Hart was recogniz ...

*"A Note on the

Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

Theory by"

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the theatre crit ...

*"The Achievement of HT Wensel" by

H. Allen Smith Harry Allen Wolfgang Smith
''Time (magazine), Time''. Nove ...

*"Needed: Feminine Math" by Parke Cummings *"Cartoon" by

Alfred Frueh Alfred Joseph Frueh (pronounced: "free"; 1880 – 14 September 1968) was an American caricaturist, political cartoonist, and humorist. In his ''Lakeville Journal'' obituary, he was lauded as "The most important theatrical caricaturist of his era ...

*"Two Extracts" by

*"Mathematics for Golfers" by

*"The Mathematician's Nightmare: The Vision of Professor Squarepunt" by

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

*" Milo and the Mathemagician" by

Norton Juster Norton Juster (June 2, 1929 – March 8, 2021) was an American academic, architect, and writer. He was best known as an author of children's books, notably for ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' (1961) and ''The Dot and the Line'' (1963). Early life Just ...

Irregular Figures

*"Cartoon" by

Saul Steinberg Saul Steinberg (June 15, 1914, Rm. Sărat, Romania – May 12, 1999, New York City) was a Romanian-born American artist, best known for his work for ''The New Yorker'', most notably ''View of the World from 9th Avenue''. He described himself ...

*"Sixteen Stones" by

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

*"O'Brien's Table" by

J.L. Synge John Lighton Synge (; 23 March 1897 – 30 March 1995) was an Irish mathematician and physicist, whose seven-decade career included significant periods in Ireland, Canada, and the USA. He was a prolific author and influential mentor, and is cr ...

*"The Abominable Mr. Gunn" by

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

Coconuts The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

" by

Ben Ames Williams Ben Ames Williams (March 7, 1889 – February 4, 1953) was an American novelist and writer of short stories; he wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. Among his novels are ''Come Spring'' (1940), ''Leave Her to Heaven'' (1944) ...

Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...

and the Bright Boy" by J.L. Synge *"The Purse of Fortunatus" (an excerpt from ''

Sylvie and Bruno ''Sylvie and Bruno'', first published in 1889, and its second volume ''Sylvie and Bruno Concluded'' published in 1893, form the last novel by Lewis Carroll published during his lifetime. Both volumes were illustrated by Harry Furniss. The nove ...

'') by

*"Cartoon" by Saul Steinberg *"The Symbolic Logic of Murder" by John Reese

Simple Harmonic Motions

*"Cartoon" James Frankfort *"The Square of the Hypotenuse"

Saul Chaplin Saul Chaplin (February 19, 1912 – November 15, 1997) was an American composer and musical director. He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York. He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley. In film, he won ...

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

*"The Ta Ta"

Joseph Charles Holbrooke Joseph Charles Holbrooke, sometimes given as Josef Holbrooke, (5 July 18785 August 1958) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. Life Early years Joseph Holbrooke was born Joseph Charles Holbrook in Croydon, Surrey. His father, als ...

& Sidney H. Sime

Dividends and Remainders

This section includes a collection of poems, cartoons, anecdotes, and limericks. The final pages describe Mrs. Miniver's problem.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathematical Magpie, the 1962 anthologies Mathematics fiction books Fiction anthologies

Contents

A Set of Imaginaries

Comic Sections

Irregular Figures

Simple Harmonic Motions

Dividends and Remainders

References