For the second meeting of the Fall 2025 AWM Book Club, we read Proof, by David Auburn, a short play about mathematics and madness.
Proof won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. It premiered on Broadway in 2000 at the Walter Kerr Theatre and ran until 2003. In 2005, Miramax Films released a film adaptation of the play starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Synopsis: Catherine has lived alone with her father, who had once been a world-renowned mathematician, in order to care for him during a period of mental decline. But the nature of their conversations is starting to cause her to fear that she may share more with her father than a love of numbers. Complicating this is one of her father’s former students, Hal, combing through his journals for something of value, while anxiously wondering if his own best days are behind him at 28. And Catherine’s sister, Claire, who only wants the best for Catherine, though her motives may not be entirely unselfish. A poignant and surprisingly funny look at what we’re willing to sacrifice for those we love – and what we’re not. (from American Players Theatre)
The story provided a framework for discussions on:
- The association between genius and insanity
- The belief that mathematics is a “young man’s game”
- Opinions about mathematics prizes and awards, such as the Fields Medal
- The plausibility of amateur mathematicians producing groundbreaking work
- Misattribution of credit in scholarship