D'oh! Scientist uncovers hidden math references in Simpsons episodes

Those who dismiss "The Simpsons" as a mindless comedy may have to think twice: a scientist has found numerous hidden math references in several episodes of the hit TV series.

 

Simon Singh, an author with a Ph.D. in particle physics, wrote an entire book, "The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets," after finding the hidden math gems in the show.

 

"About 10 years ago I spotted a reference to Fermat's last theorem in an episode titled 'The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace,'" he told The Huffington Post in an email.

 

He said the theorem, which boggled mathematicians for more than 300 years, had a cameo in "Treehouse of Horror VI," prompting him to pay more attention to the show.

 

When he did, he found the series had "dozens" of mathematical references from "simple concepts like pi to appearances by great unsolved problems in mathematics."

 

Singh also cited references to prime numbers, "narcissistic numbers," googolplex, calculus, algorithms, and computer science problems, the Huffington Post said.

 

Math geek writers

 

The Huffington Post noted many writers of the show have backgrounds in math and science.

 

It said executive producer Al Jean went to Harvard at age 16 and earned a math degree, while head writer David Cohen studied physics at Harvard and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley.

 

Also, it said writer Jeff Westbrook taught computer science at Yale University.

 

Huffington Post cited an interview with Singh by the math video series Numberphile, where he said they could have loved "breaking" logic.

 

In the interview, Singh said mathematicians love logic, and therefore "they love breaking logic and playing with logic and they love the illogical, and a lot of humor is based on that."  — TJD, GMA News