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! |