Re-Reading The Humans Within The Context of The Theorem and Philosophy of Pythagoras

Year 2023, Issue: 33, 1198 - 1211, 26.04.2023

Leyla Adıgüzel Ömer Aytaç Aykaç Merve Betül Görmez

https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1283502

Cited By: 1

Abstract

In The Humans, published in 2013, Matt Haig tells the story of a ‘commissioned’ alien sent to Earth from an extra-terrestrial planet. The extra-terrestrials have solved the mystery of prime numbers and have gone far beyond humanity in every sense. On the other hand, the humans living on Earth have just solved the secret about prime numbers that started with Pythagoras and continued for centuries. A professor named Andrew has reached the solution; with this solution, people will make significant progress in many fields, especially in areas related to technology. This transformation is seen as a danger to the world, and the extra-terrestrials try to prevent it. An alien lands on Earth and tries to eliminate Professor Andrew and the people who know this solution. At this point, the reader not only witnesses the struggle between an alien and humans, but is also confronted with an action-packed science fiction with traces of the famous philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras in the background. The author indirectly references Pythagoras’ mathematical theorem, calculations, philosophy, and thought in his narrative, which he tells as humor independent of all this intensity. This study aims to address Haig's work with Pythagoras in the background by making Pythagoras more visible. It aims to examine in detail the direct and indirect references to Pythagoras in his work, which is mathematical and philosophical.

Keywords

Matt Haig, The Humans, Pythagoras, Pythagorean Theorem, Philosophy

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