Out of this world
Feb. 13th, 2026 11:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baroque_mongooseI'm a sucker for books in the grey area between fiction and mathematics/science; they're usually categorised as fiction, but they're not quite, since you can learn quite a bit of actual information from reading them. I used to own copies of both Flatland by Edwin Abbott and Flatterland, the modern sequel by Ian Stewart; as you'd expect from Ian Stewart, Flatterland is not only educational but often very funny. For those not already familiar with the concepts, Flatland (written in 1884) was an introduction to the concept of higher dimensions, written from the point of view of two-dimensional creatures coming to terms with the existence of a third dimension. Flatterland takes this a little further and talks about non-Euclidean spaces, which may well sound scary if you're not a mathematician, but Ian Stewart knows exactly what he's doing. He can explain even quite abstract concepts in terms that anyone can understand. I would very much recommend both books, preferably together.
And then, some time last year, d'Artagnan and I were talking about George Gamow, who was another brilliant scientific explainer with a lively sense of humour, and he asked if I'd read the Mr Tompkins stories. Amazingly, I had not, though I had read all of Gamow's books I'd been able to get my hands on in my late teens. So, on d'Artagnan's enthusiastic recommendation, I bought a copy. (I should probably add here that d'Artagnan is not just an outstanding musician; he's also very much not shabby on the physics front. He has a joint degree in Natural Sciences and Music, which is an unusual combination but it could have been specifically designed for him.)
Mr Tompkins is great. He's a rather ordinary chap who has all sorts of entertaining adventures in what appears, at first sight, to be a completely extraordinary world... except it isn't. Not really. Gamow is actually showing his readers what relativistic and quantum effects would look like if they were discernible at a human scale. It's hard science dressed up as delightful and often hilarious little stories, and it's beautifully done. While it's now a little out of date, as inevitably happens, it's still a very fun read, and I'd particularly recommend it if you know an intelligent secondary-school-age child with an interest in physics; there aren't really age limits on it, of course, but a child who's just starting to discover physics will really be struck by the wow factor.
When this kind of book is discussed, someone always mentions Alice in Wonderland, which to me is interesting because it's not one of these books, though it was, of course, written by a mathematician. (Lewis Carroll was a prolific creator of mathematical puzzles, many of which were published in magazines at the time.) The other-worldly fantasy element is there, but it doesn't have a mathematical or scientific basis; Through the Looking Glass does contain a chess game which can be reconstructed from the text, which is clever and intriguing but not quite the same thing. Even so, I think I can see where people are coming from with this. All of these books follow the adventures of a character from the "normal" world who is somehow pitched into a strange and unfamiliar world; and whether that world is based on quantum physics or simply a vivid imagination (possibly, in Lewis Carroll's case, augmented occasionally with the aid of a hookah, although nobody is 100% certain about that despite the existence of the Caterpillar), the character still has to negotiate it somehow. Half the fun of these stories is in how that character does that. You can be a fine mathematician or scientist, and you can even be excellent at explaining those subjects, but you won't be able to write a good story of this type unless you are also a good character writer.
I have a decent all-round scientific background, but it's not good enough to write this kind of story. On the other hand, I can write characters, and I do know a man who does have an appropriate level of scientific ability...
And then, some time last year, d'Artagnan and I were talking about George Gamow, who was another brilliant scientific explainer with a lively sense of humour, and he asked if I'd read the Mr Tompkins stories. Amazingly, I had not, though I had read all of Gamow's books I'd been able to get my hands on in my late teens. So, on d'Artagnan's enthusiastic recommendation, I bought a copy. (I should probably add here that d'Artagnan is not just an outstanding musician; he's also very much not shabby on the physics front. He has a joint degree in Natural Sciences and Music, which is an unusual combination but it could have been specifically designed for him.)
Mr Tompkins is great. He's a rather ordinary chap who has all sorts of entertaining adventures in what appears, at first sight, to be a completely extraordinary world... except it isn't. Not really. Gamow is actually showing his readers what relativistic and quantum effects would look like if they were discernible at a human scale. It's hard science dressed up as delightful and often hilarious little stories, and it's beautifully done. While it's now a little out of date, as inevitably happens, it's still a very fun read, and I'd particularly recommend it if you know an intelligent secondary-school-age child with an interest in physics; there aren't really age limits on it, of course, but a child who's just starting to discover physics will really be struck by the wow factor.
When this kind of book is discussed, someone always mentions Alice in Wonderland, which to me is interesting because it's not one of these books, though it was, of course, written by a mathematician. (Lewis Carroll was a prolific creator of mathematical puzzles, many of which were published in magazines at the time.) The other-worldly fantasy element is there, but it doesn't have a mathematical or scientific basis; Through the Looking Glass does contain a chess game which can be reconstructed from the text, which is clever and intriguing but not quite the same thing. Even so, I think I can see where people are coming from with this. All of these books follow the adventures of a character from the "normal" world who is somehow pitched into a strange and unfamiliar world; and whether that world is based on quantum physics or simply a vivid imagination (possibly, in Lewis Carroll's case, augmented occasionally with the aid of a hookah, although nobody is 100% certain about that despite the existence of the Caterpillar), the character still has to negotiate it somehow. Half the fun of these stories is in how that character does that. You can be a fine mathematician or scientist, and you can even be excellent at explaining those subjects, but you won't be able to write a good story of this type unless you are also a good character writer.
I have a decent all-round scientific background, but it's not good enough to write this kind of story. On the other hand, I can write characters, and I do know a man who does have an appropriate level of scientific ability...
