Don't like Maths ? Watch Simpsons

The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets

Author: Simon Singh

Publisher: Bloomsbury, Rs 399

More than a decade-and-a-half later, Simon Singh, a British author of Indian descent, is busy promoting his latest book, The Simpsons and the Mathematical Secrets. But what is he doing with The Simpsons, arguably the most successful television show in history? For, the show primarily operates as a social satire centred on a dysfunctional family. So much so that George Bush Sr, during his presidency, made a speech about family values and how the American family ought to be “more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons”.

Singh concedes in his introduction that there are many books on The Simpsons — from the perspective of theology, psychology and philosophy. And it could still have been examined from the technological/engineering point of view; Homer Simpson, after all, is a safety worker in a nuclear power plant! Singh, however, stretches the ambit further when he includes mathematics into it. “There aren’t many theologians or psychologists working with The Simpsons. But there are many accomplished mathematicians associated with it,” says he, pointing towards David S Cohen, J Stewart Burns, Al Jean, Ken Keeler and Jeff Westbrook; they all have bachelor’s degrees in mathematics or physics from Harvard, Princeton or Berkeley.

Given that there is such a high proportion of mathematicians working together on The Simpsons, is there something in animation that appeals to these people? Simon Singh answers this and many more questions in a free-wheeling interaction.

How did your fascination with The Simpsons begin?

I think I missed the first two seasons of The Simpsons because I was away in Switzerland. Then I came back and just like everybody else fell in love with this show because it was funny yet intelligent; it was an emotional drama of a loving family that would not always get along. So I watched it year after year till I spotted a reference to Fermat’s last theorem in a 2004 episode. Thereafter, I started paying more attention and realised that the show had dozens of mathematical references ranging from simple concepts like pi to appearances by great unsolved problems in mathematics. Once I realised that there was a connection between mathematics and The Simpsons, then it became an irresistible subject. I had to write about it. I love maths; I love Simpsons. So it all came together.

As you have said, your Simpsons project has been on since 2004. Why did it take so long to bring out this book?

I got distracted in the next few years as I got involved with the issue of alternative medicines which I thought was more important. Then I got sued for a libel. It’s only in the last three years that I have been able to truly focus on the subject and write this book.

Academics have debated The Simpsons for its insights into philosophy and psychology, but you have connected it with mathematics. Please tell us about maths in The Simpsons...

You can talk about sociology, psychology, theology or even philosophy of any show, but you can’t talk about mathematics of a show. Mathematics is different and it appears only in The Simpsons. The show tends to be around science — and more so mathematics. I get a kick when Lisa is coaching a baseball team in ‘MoneyBart’. In this episode, Lisa coaches Bart’s Little League baseball team to a record winning streak by using statistics and probability. She is surrounded by books in the dugout. This extraordinary sight prompts a reporter to remark: “I haven’t seen this many books in a dugout since Albert Einstein went canoeing.”

You will find mathematical equations in the middle of a story which most people won’t see. And even if you see, you won’t understand as they are advanced mathematics. So, The Simpsons is both funny and intelligent; it’s also a great animation work. But for me it’s special because it has references to unsolved riddles of mathematics. No other TV show does this. No other show celebrates maths the way it does.

Tell us about the mathematicians involved with The Simpsons.

Some of these mathematicians were quite talented as teenagers. Mike Reiss, for example, would compete in mathematical competitions but didn’t study mathematics per se. Al Jean was so brilliant in maths that he went to Harvard when he was 16. Ken Keeler has PhD in Applied Mathematics from Harvard. David Cohen has studied physics and computer science, and has written mathematical research papers. And then there’s Stewart Burns, who has his mathematics degree from Harvard and Berkeley. They all were united by their love for mathematics. Cohen, for instance, felt that through humour he is putting mathematics back in the mainstream. “After all,” he says, “if you are a 15-year-old kid and you find mathematics in The Simpsons, then you will say: ‘Hey, they love maths as I do. So maths must be pretty cool.’”

Is there something about animation that appeals to mathematicians?

The explanation is not clear and there is no simple answer. In fact, I asked these writers and they came out with different explanations. One of them said that it was about logic. If you are a mathematician, then you love logic, you like playing with it, bending it and even breaking it. And when you break logic, you become illogical and this creates humour. Some of them said that it was not so much about what we find funny, but how we work as grad students. We would sit around a table, sharing the problem and solving it together as a team. They say that when they write comedy, they do the same; someone will come up with a vague funny idea, and then others will develop it. For them, a non-mathematician tends to bang; their jokes just appear from nowhere.

Al Jean said something interesting. He said that there are so many mathematicians because it is an animation. In mathematics, you have complete control. Every line you write is perfect, so is the ultimate conclusion. It’s the same with an animation. No wonder, it’s a mathematician’s domain. Mathematics and animation are similar, controllable disciplines.

Tell us about Fermat and his association with The Simpsons. Also, Fermat appears in so many novels, films and plays...

My first book was on Fermat’s last theorem. That book was a bestseller. It happened not because people suddenly fell in love with maths, but because it’s a book on a mathematician who solved a problem in the 1630s but he didn’t tell us how. For over 350 years, his last theorem remained a puzzle whose basics most children could grasp but whose solution eluded the greatest minds in the world. And then comes a 10-year-old boy Andrew Wiles who dreams of solving this problem. He grows up, but he never stops chasing the dream and finally solves the theorem. So, it’s a human story, it’s a story about dreams and aspirations, about solving mysteries and that’s why the book became so successful.

Fermat is to maths what Einstein is to science. He is popular and fascinating. And he provides glamour to maths. This explains why his last theorem finds a place in The Simpsons, along with so many novels, films and plays. Also, there’s another reason why Cohen put it in the show: Cohen was once invited to listen to a lecture of one of the persons who helped solve Fermat’s last theorem. So, he didn’t do just because of glamour, he also did because of his personal connection.

Tell us about the importance of the VCR in The Simpsons story.

When The Simpsons started in the late 1980s, roughly half of the homes in America had a VCR, so for the first time people could watch episodes again and again. This allowed the makers of The Simpsons to insert jokes in the show that wouldn’t be understood instantly. The emergence of the VCR ensured that people could for the first time ‘freeze’ programmes, watch them again and check things. Without the VCRs, The Simpsons wouldn’t have been the show it has turned out to be.