A Treatise on the Binomial Theorem
Fictional mathematical work by Sherlock Holmes's nemesis.
A Treatise on the Binomial Theorem is a fictional mathematical work by Professor James Moriarty, the criminal mastermind and archenemy of Sherlock Holmes in Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. It is mentioned in the 1893 short story "The Final Problem," where Holmes refers to it without giving its actual title. The treatise, along with Moriarty's other book The Dynamics of an Asteroid, demonstrates his versatility as a mathematician.
Quick Facts
- Field
- Mathematics
- Known for
- Fictional treatise on the binomial theorem
Facts from the source article.
Review and discussion
Although Arthur Conan Doyle never detailed the contents of the treatise, its possible material has been a subject of speculation. Mathematician Harold Davis credited Moriarty with certain binomial identities in his book, and later scholarship integrated these into established mathematics. In 1955, Poul Anderson discussed the treatise in a publication. The work occasionally serves as a generic example of a scientific paper. In cryptography, a malicious attacker is sometimes called "Moriarty"; one paper avoided confusion with real-life academics by referring to this figure as "the author of A Treatise on the Binomial Theorem."
Other references
In the 1974 Holmes pastiche The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer, Moriarty denies writing any treatise on the binomial theorem, stating he has nothing new to say on the subject. In that novel, Moriarty is a harmless maths teacher, not an evil genius, and became a monster only in Holmes's fantasies due to traumatic childhood experiences.
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