For those who don't know, there has always been a very strong mathematical culture surrounding The Simpson's (and the sister show, Futurama). A large percentage of the writing and editorial team have higher education level qualifications in maths and/or other sciences. They have made it their personal campaign over the years to fit as many references and nods to the mathematical arts as they can.
Simon Singh is a pretty smart cookie too. With a PhD in Particle Physics from Cambridge and time spent at the CERN laboratories in Geneva he is the perfect host to navigate us through the "narcissistic primes" and other assorted number references that have been shoe-horned into 25 years of animation history.
Having read another of Singh's books (another mathematical offering concerning Fermat's Last Theorem) I kind of knew what to expect and he doesn't disappoint. The writing style makes it very easy to engage with the book, and while the level of maths required is not basic, neither is an advanced degree in differential calculus needed. Enough is explained when relevant to allow one to appreciate the mathematical aspects without it completely sucking the fun out of the show going forward.
It is fascinating to read just how many mathematical references and "in-jokes" have been slipped into the program over 500+ episodes. The basic rule appears to be that every number that makes an appearance in the program has a point, it has been thought about and long debated. Nothing has got in here randomly and it is a real insight to read the reasons behind some of them.
Singh spent time with a lot of the writers and production team and their love for mathematics and the shows come over in the interview snippets and anecdotes relayed to the reader. These people LOVE what they do and they are delighted if just one person picks up on a reference that they have popped in. It is genuine affection for their audience and the show that has, perhaps. kept it running for so long.
It is also interesting to note that when it came to writing Futurama , there was very little cross-over between the writing teams. Yet the new program managed to pull together another band of intrepid mathematicians/comedy writers to continue the trend. Somehow, the mathematical references are even more elaborate and intricate in Futurama.
But back to the book, it is not particularly long (you could probably crack through it in a weekend) and it barely scratches the surface of what has been slipped into the programs by the writers. However it has already piqued my curiosity to the point of re-watching old episodes to find numbers and trying to see if I can see where they have come from!
This was a thoroughly enjoyable trip through two topics which are of genuine interest to me and I am happy to recommend it heartily to all those out there, mathophiles and non-mathohiles alike.
Verdict: 4.5 stars out of 5
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