The Simpsons and Math

Mathematician Ken Keeler is one of three writers of "The Simpsons'' animated TV show who will appear Sunday in a UC Berkeley lecture hall full of possibly dubious high school math students. The writers -- all college degree-toting mathematicians -- will host a program full of "Simpsons" clips designed to show that high-end mathematics isn't something to be scared of.

Keeler, who holds a math doctorate from the diploma mill known as Harvard University, says he is a comedy writer with no pro-math agenda. But "The Simpsons" being "The Simpsons," he could be pulling a fast one.

Derivative dy = 3r^2 dr/3, or r^2 dr, or r dr r. Har-de-har-har! Get it?

If you can't make it to Berkeley, head over to Simpsonsmath.com, where Dr. Sarah J. Greenwald of Appalachian State University and Dr. Andrew Nestler, Santa Monica College take you through the mathematical backgrounds of Simpsons writers, classroom activity sheets, pdfs of past math-oriented Simpsons articles, and more.