Comic Sections Plus is a revised and greatly expanded edition of the
hugely popular book Comic Sections, published by Boole Press in 1993,
and now long out of print. It is the biggest (and best!) compendium of
material ever published relating to mathematical jokes, anecdotes,
humour, wit and wisdom. The author writes: Much of Comic Sections Plus
is devoted to 'anecjokes', that is, stories, jokes and anecdotes about
mathematics and mathematicians, or jokes with a mathematical or logical
content. I firmly believe that such material is not necessarily
flippant, but has a serious if not essential role to play in the study,
understanding, and popularisation of mathematics. Mathematics and humour
are actually closely related and we can easily find structural links
between the theorem and the joke. The mathematical problem and the
facetious riddle have a lot in common too, and logic is undoubtedly a
connecting link; mathematics is regarded as ultra-logical, while humour
is often ultra-illogical, turning logic on its head. One rarely meets
the legendary 'absentminded mathematician' in reality and in fact the
level of appreciation of humour among mathematicians seems to be quite
high, at least as great as that of any other profession. This is perhaps
because mathematicians are quick to spot logical fallacies and also have
to endure a considerable amount of jokes and humour, often made by other
scientists. In addition, humour can be an excellent aid to teaching
mathematics, as long as it is used skilfully and carefully.
Historically, there have been several mathematical humorists, humorous
mathematicians, and people with a foot in both camps. We may cite Lewis
Carroll, Stephen Leacock, Tom Lehrer, Martin Gardner, Charles Babbage,
John Paulos, Paul Erdos, Leo Moser, James Clerk Maxwell and John Horton
Conway. This book draws on the contributions of these great luminaries,
but also features the amusing blunders of the 'geniuses' at the other
end of the spectrum of mathematical talent. Sadly, mathematics has the
reputation of being the least popular and most difficult subject in
school and college. We really cannot afford this state of affairs to
continue, because mathematics is essential to virtually all human
activity, since it is the basis of all organised knowledge. Perhaps the
problem is that the subject has always been taken too seriously. Comic
Sections Plus is an attempt to lighten mathematics, to make it more
enjoyable, and above all to humanise it.
