Recently Michael Hartl turned me on to to L.A.'s Math Club, an irregular gathering of math and science enthusiasts. The club was started by Roni Brunn and includes quite a few interesting people, some of whom are writers for the TV show Futurama. So, out of the blue yesterday I got an email invitation from the co-creator of the show, David (X.) Cohen asking for people to come watch a video taping of a lecture entitled "Math in Futurama" which will be included in an upcoming Futurama DVD release. Well, how often do you get a chance to respond to the creator of one your favorite shows? So, of course I replied "let me come!" and told him that "Jurassic Bark" was just about the finest half hour of television ever. He responded with "Just about? We were so close!" David said that there will be a bunch of the writers at the taping, including Eric Kaplan, who wrote that episode. Meanwhile Michael Hartl was also planning to attend the lecture and I invited my friend Mike Vanier, a Caltech CS instructor. Oh yeah, we were ready to nerd up the place!

We arrived to the very small lecture room and started to mingle with various writers, most of all Ken Keeler, who was toting Hardy and Wright's "Introduction to the Theory of Numbers." It was amazing how bright the writers were - I learned that several of them had Ph.D.s. But, not only were they bright and extremely quick-witted, they were all completely down to earth. Speaking of that, Matt Groening (creator of the Simpsons as well as co-creator of Futurama) arrived and he was very affable and unassuming - completely different the stereotypical Hollywood television millionaire.

The lecture itself was pretty good, but it was the random interjections from the writers that made it hilarious. Of course, as he did in the Norah Jones concert, Michael Hartl got involved with the proceedings and should appear on the DVD as the nerd who knew the most digits of pi. I think Mike Vanier and I will also be on the DVD, just by virtue of being in the front row of a very small audience. Part of the lecture was a skit where the lecturer scolds Matt Groening for doodling in class - Mike Vanier managed to wind up with this sketch of Fry:

Finally, I just want to note how important it is for me to have contact with smart, vibrant people. Whether it was researching with David Hill at GALCIT, working with Philip and Eve at ArsDigita, traveling with Cindy, writing my book with Michael Hartl, talking about media projects with Cati and Adam, or chatting with the Futurama crowd, I'm at my best when there are smart, enthusiastic folks around me, and I need to remember that.