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Martin Gardner Biography |
Martin Gardner (born October 21, 1914) is an American recreational mathematician and author of the long-running but now discontinued 'Mathematical Games' column in Scientific American.
Interests and writings
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Martin Gardner more or less singlehandedly sustained and nurtured interest in recreational mathematics for most of the 20th century. His interests are wide, ranging from science and philosophy to magic and the skeptical movement associated with James Randi. He lives in Norman, Oklahoma.
Occasional conferences of people sharing his interests, known as the Gatherings for Gardner, are held in his honour. The first was held in 1993.
In his column, he introduced many subjects to a wider audience, including:
Flexagons
John Conway's Game of Life
Polyominoes
The Soma cube
The board game "Nash", also called "Hex" and sometimes called "John", independently created by Piet Hein and John Forbes Nash
Tangrams
Penrose tiling
cryptanalysis/trapdoor ciphers
many others... please add them here...
He is the author of more than 65 books, including books on mathematics, science, philosophy, literary criticism, and fiction.
There is an asteroid named in honor of Martin Gardner (2587) Gardner.
Books
Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (1957; Dover; ISBN 0486203948)
Mathematical Games
The Colossal Book of Mathematics: Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Problems (2001; W.W. Norton & Company; ISBN 0393020231)
The Ambidextrous Universe: Mirror Asymmetry and Time-Reversed Worlds
The Annotated Alice
The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener 1983,1999 ISBN 0312206828
Science: Good, Bad, and Bogus 1990 ISBN 8797557330
A Gardner's Workout: Training the Mind and Entertaining the Spirit 2001 ISBN 1568811209
Are Universes Thicker Than Blackberries?: Discourses on Gödel, Magic Hexagrams, Little Red Riding Hood, and Other Mathematical and Pseudoscientific Topics 2003 ISBN 0393057429 |
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