"That's Math"
Words by Tom Lehrer
"That's Mathematics"
This song was originally written back in the 80s as a theme song and
title for a PBS children's show on math now known as "Square One TV".
The song was to the tune of "That's Entertainment".
It was rejected as the theme song, partly due to not being able to get
permission to use the music of "That's Entertainment".
On July 28, 1993, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI)
presented a Fermat Fest in San Francisco to celebrate the fact that
Andrew Wiles had proven the famous Fermat's Last Theorem, which had gone
unproven for centuries. Tom was not at the fest and this song was not
performed there, but he did record it on November 2, 1993, for use over
the closing credits of a videotape they released of the event. At this
time, Tom changed the tune a bit to avoid copyright infringement, and
added the verse about Andrew Wiles.
About Fermat's Last Theorem:
Fermat had written in the margin of a notebook that he had come up with a
neat little proof of the theorem, but did not have space to write it there.
Since then, people many times have claimed to have proven the theorem, but
have been proven wrong. It has been speculated that Fermat did not actually
have a proof.
(The theorem states that for all integers n > 2, there exist no integers a, b,
& c satisfying a^n + b^n = c^n, where ^ denotes exponentiation. Note that
for n = 2 there ARE such integers, as this is the Pythagorean Theorem of right
triangles. The rest of you can look it up when you get home.)
The sheet music for this song has since been published in the April, 1997
issue of Math Horizons, which is put out by the Mathematical Association
of America.
Counting sheep
When you're trying to sleep,
Being fair
When there's something to share,
Being neat
When you're folding a sheet,
That's mathematics!
When a ball
Bounces off of a wall,
When you cook
From a recipe book,
When you know
How much money you owe,
That's mathematics!
How much gold can you hold in an elephant's ear?
When it's noon on the moon, then what time is it here?
If you could count for a year, would you get to infinity,
Or somewhere in that vicinity?
When you choose
How much postage to use,
When you know
What's the chance it will snow,
When you bet
And you end up in debt,
Oh try as you may,
You just can't get away
From mathematics!
Andrew Wiles gently smiles,
Does his thing, and voila!
Q.E.D., we agree,
And we all shout hurrah!
As he confirms what Fermat
Jotted down in that margin,
Which could've used some enlargin'.
Tap your feet,
Keepin' time to a beat,
Of a song
While you're singing along,
Harmonize
With the rest of the guys,
Yes, try as you may,
You just can't get away
From mathematics!