Abstract
Like many branches of mathematics, chaos theory and fractal geometry have provided new tools for understanding the world around us, but these two relatively recent mathematical topics have also had a surprisingly large influence on popular culture and literature. After a brief section introducing and reviewing the relevant mathematical definitions and results, this chapter will survey the works of fiction that explicitly address or employ chaos theory and fractals. Special emphasis will be placed on identifying the different ways in which authors utilize the underlying mathematical concepts and, on occasion, correcting their misconceptions. The works to be discussed include mystery novels like The Fractal Murders by Mark Cohen, science fiction novels like Cixim Liu’s The Three-Body Problem, films like Jurassic Park, and Tom Stoppard’s play Arcadia.
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Kasman, A. (2021). Uses of Chaos Theory and Fractal Geometry in Fiction. In: Tubbs, R., Jenkins, A., Engelhardt, N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Literature and Mathematics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55478-1_8
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