History Main / FormulaicMagic

** In the New 52 ''Comicbook/{{Stormwatch}}'', Jenny Quantum uses [[InstantRunes glowing mathematical symbols]] to activate her RealityWarping powers. In the [[EpisodeZero zero issue]], her predecessor a thousand years earlier, Janni Algebra, used something similar.

* Magic in the ''Literature/CthulhuMythos'' is often related to mathematics, and it makes sense considering his preference for AlienGeometries. In "Literature/TheDreamsInTheWitchHouse", for instance, the protagonist is a mathematician who researches geometrical principles that would allow him to travel outside normal space. If you can understand the true nature of the universe, you can use that knowledge to do things that seem physically impossible to us... provided you don't first GoMadFromTheRevelation or attract the attention of some EldritchAbomination, of course.

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-->-- '''Mathemagic Skill-tree Description''', ''Videogame/DungeonsOfDredmor''

* Grimoires and parchments in ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' seem to contain complex formulas which need to be deciphered in order for it to work -- kind of like math books, except those don't attempt to destroy their user.

* The {{reality warp|er}}ing abilities of human interfaces in ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' seem to work like this.
* [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun Part 7]] of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' takes geometry very seriously. A short two-page lesson on the golden ratio gives Johnny the power to create miniature wormholes.

[[folder:FanFics]]
* Magic in the version of the [[Franchise/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha Nanoha]] multiverse the fanfic ''FanFic/TheNewMath'' is set in works via complex math equations. The most powerful mages are also really, really good at math.

* Franchise/TheDCU:
** The [[ComicBook/NewGods Anti-Life Equation]] is usable as a method of MassHypnosis. It runs [[spoiler:'''Loneliness + Alienation + Fear + Despair + Self-worth ÷ Mockery ÷ Condemnation ÷ Misunderstanding x Guilt x Shame x Failure x Judgment, n=y where y=Hope and n=Folly, Love=Lies, Life=Death, Self=''''''DARKSEID''']].
** The pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|OnInfiniteEarths}} DCU RoundRobin maxiseries ''ComicBook/DCChallenge'' had a series of numbers in the first issue (written by Creator/MarkEvanier) that were somehow important -- but none of the other writers could ever really figure out how. Several of them later used the numbers in formulas for this, that, and the other. The secret? [[spoiler:Add them up on a calculator and turn the calculator upside down; it spelled out the name "ELI ELLIS", a character from the first issue who was key to the whole crisis.]]
** The [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] superhero Johnny Quick and later his daughter Jesse Quick accessed their superspeed powers by reciting the mathematical formula "3X2(9YZ)4A". More recent materials have [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] this as a mantra that allows him to tap into the mystical [[Franchise/TheFlash Speed Force]].
** One member of the Franchise/GreenLantern Corps is a sentient mathematical equation, and so is his ring.

* Franchise/MarvelUniverse:

** Small time Marvel villain Mathemanic has an array of math psycho-powers. On his first appearance, he makes [[ComicBook/NewWarriors Firestar]] believe that she's the equivalent distance between the Earth and the sun away from ''everything'' else, up to and including the smallest speck of matter. [[GoMadFromTheIsolation She promptly becomes catatonic]].

** The ComicBook/UltimateMarvel version of the Scarlet Witch needs to work out the statistical probability of her hexes before she casts them for desired effects.

* ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'': ChildProdigy Oliver Wendell Jones claims to have completed the "Great Unification Theory", a set of equations that explains everything in the universe... except flightless waterfowl. As a result, Opus the penguin is erased from reality - that is, until Oliver realizes he "[[CarryTheOne didn't carry the 2]]". Once he fixes his mistake, Opus pops back into existence.
--> '''Opus:''' NOW CUT THAT OUT!!

* ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'', much like Creator/HPLovecraft's stories, has ancient, complex mathematical equations of extraterrestrial origin with seemingly magical powers. They predict the existence of a God and [[GodOfEvil Anti-God]] and, once understood, they open up whole range of bizarre phenomena, including [[MagicMirror leaping headlong through mirrors]] into an abyssal darkness on the other side.
* The 2005 made-for-TV movie ''Supernova'' contains a weird secular magic variant. The [[SolarFlareDisaster solar flares]] predicted to destroy the earth, and which ''actually start to destroy the Earth'', stop suddenly. This happens as soon as the scientist discovers he made an error in the formula which predicted them.

* Magic in Creator/HPLovecraft's mythos is often related to mathematics, and it makes sense considering his preference for AlienGeometries. In "Literature/TheDreamsInTheWitchHouse", for instance, the protagonist is a mathematician who researches geometrical principles that would allow him to travel outside normal space. If you can understand the true nature of the universe, you can use that knowledge to do things that seem physically impossible to us... provided you don't first GoMadFromTheRevelation or attract the attention of some EldritchAbomination, of course.

* ''Literature/HaroldShea'''s ''The Incomplete Enchanter'' books by Creator/LSpragueDeCamp are heavily based on mathematics causing magic.

* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', in the later books, introduces the field of ''Bistromathics'', math that can be used to warp spacetime for purposes of FasterThanLightTravel by taking advantages of the unique properties numbers take on when written down within the confines of an Italian restaurant.

* In Creator/JohnLangan's "What Is Lost, What Is Given Away", and by extension his larger [[TheVerse mythos]], space-bending magic has heavy mathematical elements to it, to the point where a math teacher states he was one of the best students a senior sorcerer had ever had. He himself is imprisoned in an extradimensional pocket by that same sorcerer, which requires him to retrieve his books and study more of the occult mathematical equations.

* ''Series/DoctorWho''

* While not stated on ''Series/{{Lost}}'' itself, the AlternateRealityGame ''ARG/TheLostExperience'' states that the [[ArcNumber numbers]] (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) are [[spoiler:parameters in the Valenzetti equation used to derive the time remaining before humanity's extinction]].

* ''Music/RhapsodyOfFire'' song "The Mystic Prophecy of the Demonknight " has the narrator mention the heroes using "black geometry" to create a bridge over a deep chasm. When being pursued on the way back, they don't have enough time to work it out and are forced to make a LeapOfFaith.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'': Oliver Wendell Jones writes a formula to explain the universe and accidentally wipes out Opus when he realizes that, under this formula, flightless water fowl could not exist. He then realizes he had [[CarryTheOne forgotten to carry a one]], causing an unimpressed Opus to pop back into existence when he makes the correction.
[[/folder]]

* Reinhart Manx, the playable mage character in ''VideoGame/DungeonSiege III'' employs both this and {{Magitek}}, using the power of math rather than fireballs.
* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Altmeri (High Elven)]] Clan Direnni, who once ruled nearly 1/3 of Tamriel's land mass as the Direnni Hegemony in the 1st Era, were known to use "hidden magic" in the form of signs and runes in their ''financial reports'' in order to keep them out of the hands of their competitors. "Sorcerous precautions" were required on the part of the reader, lest these magic numbers prove fatal. Per one text on the subject:

** The ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' series has a Calculator class that uses various magical effects, such as casting spells that hit every target whose level is a prime number. How their abilities work from an in-universe perspective is not specified.
*** According to the remake for the PSP's tutorial, Calculators are attuned enough to the flow of mist that they can manipulate it in unique and bizarre ways which other classes just can't pull off. In other words: SE knew it made absolutely no sense and {{Hand Wave}}d it.

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Minamimoto summons a nuke by initializing the Level ''i'' Flare, which consists of [[MouthfulOfPi reciting pi to 150 digits]]. Of course, there are a lot of people capable of reciting pi to 150 digits, but they aren't Minamimoto, and they don't have a [[ItMakesSenseInContext graffiti covered dead end alleyway and eldritch tattoos]]. [[labelnote: Fun bit of math[=/=]''Final Fantasy'' info here.]] "Level x Flare" is a type of spell that casts Flare (one of the most powerful attack spells) on everything with a level divisible by whatever number x is. ''i'' is a mathematical term referring to the square root of -1, the consummate imaginary number. In addition to that, as the root of -''1'', that also makes it a possible factor in every number, real ''or'' imaginary. It would affect ''everything'', across all possible realities. Useful when your target can travel through dimensions.[[/labelnote]]

* ''VisualNovel/ChaosHead'': fun[[superscript:10]] × int[[superscript:40]] = [=Ir2=], [[spoiler:the equation Takumi discovered in elementary school and the basis of the Noah Project]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In a game of ''[[AlliterationAndAdventurers Dungeons & Discourse]]'' in ''Webcomic/DresdenCodak'', Kim Ross plays a "Bayesian Imperimancer".

** Bayesian probability concerns itself with the likelihood of a given event based upon the outcome of past events; for example, if a coin has landed heads ten times, Bayesian probability dictates it is highly likely to land heads an eleventh time (because it's probably a TwoHeadedCoin). Kim's class is a play on "Bayesian Imperative" as in, she can basically tell the world how to work if she makes strong enough judgments about how it should work.

* There's a WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck cartoon called "WesternAnimation/DonaldInMathmagicLand", which is Donald exploring (with the {{Narrator}}) the history of mathematics, and math's contribution to things such as music, games, and the natural world.

* There's a WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck cartoon called "Donald Duck's Adventures In Mathemagic Land", which is Donald exploring (with the {{Narrator}}) the history of mathematics, and math's contribution to things such as music, games, and the natural world.

* In a game of ''[[MagicAmpersand Dungeons & Discourse]]'' in ''Webcomic/DresdenCodak'', Kim Ross plays a "Bayesian Imperimancer".

This may be FunctionalMagic under rule magic. Arguably TruthInTelevision if you [[ClarkesThirdLaw consider science to be a form of magic]], and that its formulas are being applied to create technology, thus hacking the universe and having magic-like powers over things. Also, we don't actually know ''why'' reality is describable by magic - this is a surprisingly profound philosophical problem rarely addressed in fiction.

This may be FunctionalMagic under rule magic. Arguably TruthInTelevision if you [[ClarkesThirdLaw consider science to be a form of magic]], and that its formulas are being applied to create technology, thus hacking the universe and having magic-like powers over things.

* Grimoires and parchments in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' seem to contain complex formulas which need to be deciphered in order for it to work -- kind of like math books, except those don't attempt to destroy their user.

* The {{reality warp|er}}ing abilities of human interfaces in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' seem to work like this.

** One member of the Franchise/GreenLantern Corps is a sentient mathematical equation, and so is [[GreenLanternRing his ring]].

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'':

[[folder:Film]]

* ''[[Literature/HaroldShea The Incomplete Enchanter]]'' books by Creator/LSpragueDeCamp are heavily based on mathematics causing magic.

* In ''Literature/APracticalGuideToEvil'', most of the major characters use Trimegistan Magic, based on spell formulas, experiments and quantifiable effects. This isn't the only magical theory, but it is the most reproducible and teachable. However, because it was developed by [[TheEmpire The Dread Empire Of Praes]] on the back of a foundational theory by the series BigBad, other nations tend to be wary of it.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', several Blue-aligned schools of magic are based around this, but the [[WizardingSchool Strixhaven]] college of Quandrix is particularly about this trope. Most of the spells depicted have a mathematical perfection about it, and students can even summon Fractals, which are described as math-elementals.

* In ''Empire'' (by Delany and Chaykin), knowledge of catastrophe theory, enshrined in a crystalloid device, holds to key to ruling a galactic empire.

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-033 SCP-033]] is an equation which adds up to a "missing number", an integer which non-paranormal mathematics has somehow missed. If it's recorded in any sort of computing device or written on machine-made paper, whatever it's recorded on starts to physically degrade.
** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-233 SCP-233]] is a 23-sided (impossible) polyhedron that magically accelerates calculations done in base-23 but reacts extremely violently to the number [REDACTED] and causes rounding errors in every calculation not done in base-23.
** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/another-goddamn-magic-system During this lecture]], the speaker explains that almost anybody who does not believe in luck cannot create a luck charm with magic, unless they are an actual statistician, because they know what it would actually take to create luck, as an example of how not everyone can or can't do the same things with magic.

Modern science loves explaining complex physical phenomena through comparatively simple-looking mathematical abstractions. Motion of an object? ''F'' = ''ma''. Energy content of a mass? ''E'' = ''mc''[[superscript:2]]. State of a gas? ''pV'' = ''nRT''. Exceptions to these rules are themselves often explainable through math -- more intimidating calculations, of course, but still math. These equations are only useful, however, because they accurately describe physical interactions in nature; without this connection, they're just meaningless jumbles of symbols.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', several Blue-aligned schools of magic are based around this, but the [[WizardSchool Strixhaven]] college of Quandrix is particularly about this trope. Most of the spells depicted have a mathematical perfection about it, and students can even summon Fractals, which are described as math-elementals.

* In ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Misawa has a monster called Mathematician, a goofy-looking wizard wearing a mortarboard and academic road. It's attack is called "Battle Curriculum" (or "Number Cruncher" in the dub) and consists of a beam of magical energy full of numbers and mathematical symbols. [[AscendedFanon Konami eventually]] made it into a [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mathematician real card]].

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', several Blue-aligned schools of magic are based around this, but the [[WizardSchool Strixhaven]] college of Quandrix (a student of which is pictured above) is particularly about this trope. Most of the spells depicted have a mathematical perfection about it, and students can even summon Fractals, which are described as math-elementals.

* Calcumon of ''Anime/DigimonUniverseAppMonsters'' his able to alter any data, including the power stats of other Appmon, by applying mathematical operations to it. It renders most of the Buddy Appmon powerless by plugging in multiplication and division operations with the buttons on its arms and then firing a BreathWeapon at them. It's one of the few instances where the Appmon's stat screens are actually story-relevant. The only one this doesn't work on is Dokamon, who is HotBlooded enough to [[AchievementsInIgnorance straight-up ignore it]].
* The [[RealityWarper reality warping]] abilities of human interfaces in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' seem to work like this.
* Part 7 of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' takes geometry very seriously. A short 2 page lesson on the golden ratio gives the protagonist the power to create miniature wormholes.

* In ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Misawa has a monster called Mathematician, a goofy-looking wizard wearing a mortarboard and academic road. It's attack is called "Battle Curriculum" (or "Number Cruncher" in the dub) and consists of a beam of magical energy full of numbers and mathematical symbols. [[AscendedFanon Konami eventually]] made it into a [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mathematician real card.]]

* Multiple times in Franchise/TheDCU:
** The [[BrownNote Anti-Life Equation]] is usable as a method of MassHypnosis. It runs [[spoiler:'''Loneliness + Alienation + Fear + Despair + Self-worth ÷ Mockery ÷ Condemnation ÷ Misunderstanding x Guilt x Shame x Failure x Judgment, n=y where y=Hope and n=Folly, Love=Lies, Life=Death, Self=''''''[+{{ComicBook/DARKSEID}}+]''']].
** The pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} DCU RoundRobin maxiseries ''ComicBook/DCChallenge'' had a series of numbers in the first issue (written by Creator/MarkEvanier) that were somehow important -- but none of the other writers could ever really figure out how. Several of them later used the numbers in formulas for this, that, and the other. The secret? [[spoiler:Add them up on a calculator and turn the calculator upside down; it spelled out the name "ELI ELLIS", a character from the first issue who was key to the whole crisis.]]
** [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] superhero Johnny Quick and later his daughter Jesse Quick accessed their superspeed powers by reciting the mathematical formula "3X2(9YZ)4A". More recent materials have [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] this as a mantra that allows him to tap into the mystical Speed Force.

** Dr. Sivana, longtime enemy of ''ComicBook/CaptainMarvel'' (Billy Batson), broke out of CardboardPrison by memorizing and reciting a mathematical equation that allowed him to walk through the wall.
* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, Amadeus Cho (the seventh-smartest person on the planet) sees the world as mathematical formulas. The Comicbook/IncredibleHulk does as well, according to Cho (albeit unconsciously), which explains how he somehow doesn't hurt any innocent bystanders while Hulk-smashing.
* Small time Marvel villain Mathemanic has an array of math psycho-powers. For example, making people aware of galactic-scale distances so that they can't aim properly.
** This is a severe understatement. On his first appearance, he made [[ComicBook/NewWarriors Firestar]] believe she was the equivalent distance between the earth and the sun away from EVERYTHING else. And I mean the smallest speck of matter. [[GoMadFromTheIsolation She promptly went catatonic.]]
* There was a ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' arc involving a mathematical formula that gained sentience. It was a low-grade RealityWarper that dealt with reality in mathematical terms and saw Reed, its accidental "creator", as its only equal - to the point that it resembled a StalkerWithACrush. Reed stopped it by creating a formula version of himself, balancing the equation.
* The ComicBook/UltimateMarvel version of the Scarlet Witch needs to work out the statistical probability of her hexes before she casts them for desired effects.

* ''Film/{{Pi}}'': [[MadMathematician Max]] starts the film with a dogmatic belief that "mathematics is the language of nature," which straddles the line between "math is capable of explaining everything in existence" and "math ''determines'' our existence." He later encounters a 216-digit number that seems to have a catastrophic effect on anything it touches: [[spoiler:the stock market, his mentor's health, and eventually his (already tenuous) sanity]].
* The Creator/JohnCarpenter horror movie ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'', much like H.P. Lovecraft's stories, has ancient, complex mathematical equations of extraterrestrial origin with seemingly magical powers. They predict the existence of a God and [[GodOfEvil Anti-God]] and, once understood, they open up whole range of bizarre phenomena, including [[MagicMirror leaping headlong through mirrors]] into an abyssal darkness on the other side.
* The made-for-TV movie Supernova (2005, Peter Fonda) contains a weird secular magic variant. The solar flares predicted to destroy the earth, and which ACTUALLY START TO DESTROY THE EARTH, stop suddenly. This happens as soon as the scientist discovers he made an error in the formula which predicted them.

* Magic in Creator/HPLovecraft's mythos is often related to mathematics, and it makes sense considering his preference for AlienGeometries. In "Literature/TheDreamsInTheWitchHouse", for instance, the protagonist is a mathematician who researches geometrical principles that would allow him to travel outside normal space. If you can understand the true nature of the universe, you can use that knowledge to do things that seem physically impossible to us. Provided you don't first GoMadFromTheRevelation or attract the attention of some EldritchAbomination, of course.

* The ''[[Literature/HaroldShea Compleat Enchanter]]'' books by Creator/LSpragueDeCamp are heavily based on mathematics causing magic.
* The Aons (runes) neccessary to make the magic system from ''Literature/{{Elantris}}'' work are very much like a combination of mathematical symbols and a very complex alphabet. Learning magic is incredibly difficult for this reason, and it can take weeks for even an experienced practitioner to write out the more complex spell "equations".
* ''Literature/FineStructure'' uses science, not magic. In later stories, scientists fluent in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LanguageOfMagic Eka]] can unlock the "The simple knowledge of an equation is powerful in itself" kind of formulaic magic. [[spoiler:It's also revealed that the universe, or more accurately the imprisoning god, doesn't like anyone messing around with Eka.]]
* In ''Literature/TheGodEaters'' this appears to be how the very powerful 'Pattern Magic' works.

* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', in the later books, introduces the field of ''Bistromathics'', math that can be used to warp spacetime for purposes of Faster-than-light travel by taking advantages of the unique properties numbers take on when written down within the confines of an Italian restaurant.

* The Lovecraft-inspired, ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'' by Charles Stross shows magic as mathematics, to the point where computers solving certain equations can warp reality as per magical spells. Becomes a bit of a problem when the walls around reality start weakening, to the worst-case scenario of somebody solving equations in their head running the risk of accidentally summoning an EldritchAbomination.
* In Literature/MondayBeginsOnSaturday, a book called ''Equations of Mathmagic'' is mentioned.

* The premise behind ''Literature/SimonBloom''.
* Jack L. Chalker's ''[[Literature/WellWorld Well of Souls]]'' series: The Great Equation. A couple of supercomputers are capable of [[RealityWarper warping reality]] retroactively (that is, those who didn't see the change actually happen are incapable of realizing that anything actually changed) by "altering" the Equation, which basically ''is'' reality. By moving a few numbers in the equation, the result -- that is, our reality -- changes to suit.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' story ''Logopolis'' features a planet where they've developed a branch of mathematics in which the act of performing the calculations changes the fabric of reality. The entire population takes shifts in calculating a never-ending formula that holds the end of the universe at bay.
** Bonus points to the Master for destroying an ''entire quarter of the Universe'' by killing a couple of the guys doing the math.
** A more abstract example is seen in the episode "The Shakespeare Code"; the Carrionites use words as magic, like witches, and the Doctor explains this as completely non-magical by comparing it to mathematics on earth; "With the right string of numbers you can split the atom!" Except, of course, that saying the number out loud will not cause an atom to spontaneously divide in two.
*** Unless you're Logopolitan, of course.
* While not stated on ''Series/{{Lost}}'' itself,the AlternateRealityGame ''ARG/TheLostExperience'' states that the [[ArcNumber numbers]] (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) are [[spoiler:parameters in the Valenzetti equation used to derive the time remaining before humanity's extinction]].

* ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'': Oliver Wendell Jones writes a formula to explain the universe and accidentally wipes out Opus when he realises that, under this formula, flightless water fowl could not exist. He then realises he had forgotten to carry a one, causing an unimpressed Opus to pop back into existence when he makes the correction.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', several Blue-aligned schools of magic are based around this, but the [[WizardSchool Strixhaven]] college of Quandrix (a student of which is pictured above) is particularily about this trope. Most of the spells depicted have a mathematical perfection about it, and students can even summon Fractals, which are described as math-elementals.

* In VideoGame/DungeonsOfDredmor, one of the skill sets you can choose at start is Mathemagics. It gives you access to fun spells such as Curse of the Golden Ratio and Beklam's Diminishing Calculus!

--> ''"Crucial pages were covered in spittle of the previous translator, who had babbled idiotically over the text for days before catching fire."''

*** According to the remake for the PSP's tutorial, Calculators are attuned enough to the flow of mist that they can manipulate it in unique and bizarre ways which other classes just can't pull off. In other words: SE knew it made absolutely no sense and handwaved it.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' the background lore about the Arcanists reveals that they study their magic through the art of mathematics and geometry. Apparently in this realm, finding X on the Triangle, understanding Pi, the square root, cubic powers, and combining multiple symbols together, gives you access to magic and the ability to summon gods.

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Minamimoto summons a nuke by initializing the Level ''i'' Flare, which consists of [[MouthfulOfPi reciting pi to 150 digits]]. Of course, there are a lot of people capable of reciting pi to 150 digits, but they aren't Minamimoto, and they don't have a [[ItMakesSenseInContext graffiti covered dead end alleyway and eldritch tattoos]]. [[labelnote: Fun bit of math[=/=]''FinalFantasy'' info here.]] "Level x Flare" is a type of spell that casts Flare (one of the most powerful attack spells) on everything with a level divisible by whatever number x is. ''i'' is a mathematical term referring to the square root of -1, the consummate imaginary number. In addition to that, as the root of -''1'', that also makes it a possible factor in every number, real ''or'' imaginary. It would affect ''everything'', across all possible realities. Useful when your target can travel through dimensions.[[/labelnote]]

* In ''VisualNovel/Empire'' (by Delany and Chaykin), knowledge of catastrophe theory, enshrined in a crystalloid device, holds to key to ruling a galactic empire.

-->'''Kim''': I am 87% confident you will burst into flames. (*''fwoosh''*)
** Bayesian probability concerns itself with the likelihood of a given event based upon the outcome of past events; for example, if a coin has landed heads ten times, bayesian probability dictates it is highly likely to land heads an eleventh time (because it's probably a TwoHeadedCoin). Kim's class is a play on "Bayesian Imperitive" as in, she can basically tell the world how to work if she makes strong enough judgments about how it should work.
* ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'' has Mathamancy, which involves "analyzing probabilities," "predicting outcomes," and "the raw calculations thereof." It should be noted, however, that Mathamancy in Erfworld (or at least Parson's Mathamancy Bracer) seems to be more than merely math from the real world: for example, Parson has a magical deal to give [[ChessMaster Charlie]] twelve Mathamancy calculations whenever he wants. At one point, when negotiating whether to give up the deal in exchange for information, Charlie asked Parson to calculate whether the information was worth the nine calculations remaining. The answer was that there was a probability of 4% that it was worth the exchange, something that should not be possible to calculate.

* The last panel of ''{{Webcomic/xkcd}}'' [[http://xkcd.com/804/ #804]] treats the (very counter-intuitive) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banach-Tarski_paradox Banach-Tarski paradox]] as a result you can get in real life if you take the axiom of choice.

* [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-033 SCP-033]] of the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' is an equation which adds up to a "missing number", an integer which non-paranormal mathematics has somehow missed. If it's recorded in any sort of computing device or written on machine-made paper, whatever it's recorded on starts to physically degrade.

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/another-goddamn-magic-system During this lecture]] the speaker explains that almost anybody who does not believe in luck cannot create a luck charm with magic, unless they are an actual statistician, because they know what it would actually take to create luck, as an example of how not everyone can or can't do the same things with magic.

* There's a WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck cartoon called "Donald Duck's Adventures In Mathemagic Land," which is Donald exploring (with the Narrator) the history of mathematics, and math's contribution to things such as music, games, and the natural world.

* Magic in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' is incredibly similar to computer programming, to the point that [[ETGaveUsWiFi wizards that migrated to Earth used it as the basis for JavaScript]].

* Magic in Creator/HPLovecraft's mythos is often related to mathematics, and it makes sense considering his preference for AlienGeometries. In "Literature/TheDreamsInTheWitchHouse", for instance, the protagonist is a mathematician who discovers an equation that would allow him to travel outside angled space (basically, to create wormholes). If you can understand the true nature of the universe, you can use that knowledge to do things that seem physically impossible to us. Provided you don't first GoMadFromTheRevelation or attract the attention of some EldritchAbomination, of course.