Mathematics is usually placed on the diametrically opposite path to the humanities, in particular, literature. However, the truth is that they have coexisted kindly in different times and cultures. In fact, in the past, it was not unusual for there to be those who cultivated both genres.
For example, in the 12th century, the famous Indian mathematician and astronomer Bháskara II wrote “Lilavati”, a beautiful compendium of arithmetic and geometry problems in the form of verses dedicated to his daughter. Around the same time, Omar Jayam, a great Persian astronomer, mathematician and poet, divided his time between writing his famous collection of poems “Rubaiyat” and making dizzying advances in science, including the first models of non-Euclidean geometry.
Although little visible, this tradition has endured over time. In 1904, José Echegaray, professor of mathematics at the University of Madrid, received nothing less than the Nobel Prize for Literature (an award he shared with the Provençal poet Frédiric Mistral, from whom our Gabriela took part of his pseudonym).
Further into the 20th century, it is impossible not to mention Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who was a physics and mathematics professor in his youth. Most likely, there will be those who remember the presence of masters of these disciplines as characters in his works, including “Cancer Pavilion” and “Matriona’s House.”
The healthy coexistence between exact science and literature also has a tradition in our country. This is how, in the 1940s, “Mathematics and poetry” by Arturo Aldunate Phillips was published, which can be considered the first mathematical popularization book for a non-academic public written in Chile.
By the way, it is also worth remembering that Nicanor Parra was a physics and mathematics teacher. Trained in the old Pedagogical Institute, there he received the last lessons from Ricardo Poenish, the first researcher-doctor in mathematics based in Chile (on this, see https://www.elmostrador.cl/cultura/2021/05/02/el-dia-en-que-profesores-del-extranjero-llegaron-a-ensenar-en-chile/). And among those who are still with us, the presence of mathematical structures and language are undeniable in the work of Raúl Zurita and partly reflect his training in engineering at UTFSM, as he himself confesses:
Beyond practitioners of both disciplines, writing offers a wide field for the dissemination of mathematical ideas and discoveries outside the traditional classroom. In particular, it is a means of communication with the adult public who does not have good memories of mathematics from their school days.
It is a reason for joy, then, that this vein has been exploited in recent years by numerous local academics and has given rise to an unprecedented production in the history of our country. Just to name a few recent titles, we can highlight “The Unity of All Things” (2019), by Nicolás Libedinsky, a psychedelic novel about which you can find out more at https://www.elmostrador.cl/cultura/2020/01/29/la-unidad-de-todas-las-cosas-la-novela-matematica-de-este-verano/, “The great adventure of knowledge” (2023), by Leslie Jiménez Palma and Constanza Rojas-Molina; and “Events of zero probability” (2023), by Eric Goles.
A while ago I got involved in a new adventure of this type. The idea was to tell in an accessible way the history and relevance of the most iconic number in mathematics, π, as well as the mysteries that still exist around it.
The project, originally approved by Editorial Planeta, was enriched by the innovative proposal of Mahsa Allahbakhshi, an Iranian-Canadian academic at the PUC, to implement first-person narration. Through this resource, deployed with an intimate and attractive approach, the aim is to provoke emotions in the reader and turn the learning of an essentially logical discipline into a warmer and more memorable experience.
This is how “π: an infinite autobiography” was created, which, thanks to the magnificent work of the Mexican illustrator Verena Rodríguez, ended up creating a beautiful book, judging by the kind words of José Maza on Instagram:
It is a journey through the world and the history of mathematics in which the narrator, the number π itself, travels around the planet from the most ancient times to the present in order to unravel his own identity. A text that, in just 144 pages, allows you to playfully approach the enigmas of mathematics through an entertaining story accessible to all audiences, particularly high school students and their teachers.
A few months before completing this project, “The Journey of One” appeared in bookstores, by the then USACH academic Andrea Pinto Vergara and the illustrator Nacha Márquez.
Although this book is aimed at a younger audience, it is also suitable for everyone, particularly fathers and mothers who want to accompany their children in school. A happy coincidence: in this book, it is also his protagonist, number 1, who tells his own story.
As the great Spanish popularizer Eduardo Sáez de Cabezón points out in his now famous talk “Mathematics is forever” (available in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jej8qlzlAGw): “mathematics is a beautiful logical universe, perhaps the greatest collective task of humanity.”
Now, the nature of human beings is not purely rational, and even we do not always approach this great logical-mathematical edifice from rationality. As in every area, emotion plays a fundamental role in learning. This is precisely what 1 and π pursue through their narratives: connecting with the public to bring them closer to what – unfairly, I must say – is judged to be the driest of all sciences. How happy that both numbers have decided to write their stories in our country!