“The Simpsons” and “Futurama” can teach you a thing or two about math. The animated shows contain hundreds of references to math in all its forms — addition, subtraction, long division, calculus. Several of the shows’ writers hold advanced math degrees from some of the nation’s best universities, and they’re not averse to working in a little Pythagorean theorem, if the timing is right. “We never wrote a joke where we tried to say nobody’s going to get that joke except a mathematician”, said writer for both shows Ken Keeler, who got his doctorate in applied mathematics from Harvard University. “On the other hand, if it was something that worked in the story,” it was fair game, Keeler said. On Sunday, Keeler and two other “mathematical” writers from the popular shows will share the inside scoop those references at a free public forum at the University of California, Berkeley.
SOURCE: Inside Bay Area