Previously published separately, the two books aha gotcha and aha insight are here combined as a single volume. Gardner primarily approaches logica the world is lesser without martin gardner in it. The liar paradox buttons and graffiti a sentence and its opposite the crazy computer infinite regress the platosocrates paradox alice and the red king crocodile and baby the don quixote paradox the. Martin gardner was an american mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature especially the writings of lewis carroll, philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion. Martin gardner was an incredibly prolific journalist and essayist with eclectic interests. Aug 10, 2019 aha gotcha paradoxes to puzzle and delight pdf aha. Martin canlne deserves huge thanks for renewing this great book. Knotted doughnuts and other mathematical amusements, martin gardner, 1986. He was a keen debunker of scientific fraud and quackery for 50 years. His work inspired many readers to discover new interests of their own. Oct 19, 2009 when i was a young math teacher back in the 60s, i read an interesting article by martin gardner in scientific american magazine on how to build your own soma cube, a 4x4x4 cube consisting of about my memory fails me 56 or so smaller pieces, that, if you were persistent, could be dissembled and reassembled into the original cube. In this combined volume, you will find puzzles ranging over geometry, logic, probability, statistics, number, time, combinatorics. Gotcha, martin gardner presents a humorous and engaging collection of puzzles from. To operate your planetarium, take it into a dark room and insert a torch into the open end.
Tom rodgers conceived the idea of hosting a weekend gathering in honor of gardner to bring some of these people together. I collect his books and am trying to produce a complete list of them. Martin gardner wrote the mathematical games column for scientific american for twentyfive years and published more than seventy books on topics as diverse as magic, religion, and alice in wonderland. Paradoxes to puzzle and delight martin gardner download bok. Martin gardners scientific american puzzle collections martin is most famously associated with the puzzles posed in his 300odd scientific american columns, and the fifteen resulting books which appeared between 1959 and 1997. Over a period of 24 years january 1957 december 1980, martin gardner wrote 288 consecutive monthly mathematical games columns for scientific american magazine. Martin gardner ic\ the authofofmore than seventy hook ona vast. Apr 12, 2020 gardner primarily approaches logica the world is lesser without martin gardner in it. The aha books, as they are referred to by fans of martin gardner, contain 144. Freeman and company, 1978, this book challenges the readers reasoning power and intuition. Gardner s illuminating autobiography is a candid selfportrait by the man evolutionary theorist stephen jay gould called our single brightest. Martin gardner french, german, italian, portuguese, spanish. Martin gardner s scientific american puzzle collections martin is most famously associated with the puzzles posed in his 300odd scientific american columns, and the fifteen resulting books which appeared between 1959 and 1997.
He was a polymath and a gifted writer, publishing more than 70 books in. Of course, those columns and books contained much material not in the puzzle vein. Martin gardner science puzzlers martin gardner illustated by anthony ravielli. Ive been trying to reconstruct how i first encountered martin gardner. In light of the recent death of martin gardner, we are republishing this article from the august 1998 issue of scientific american. Martin gardner was a supremely intelligent mathematician with a real talent for explaining complex mathematical problems in a way that lay people could understand. Gardners life was not only long but extraordinarily productive.
After that, he wrote the notes of a fringe watcher column in the skeptical inquirer. It may have happened in 1959, when at age 14 i happened to visit the home of a boy a couple of. Paradoxes to puzzle and delight is also divided into six chapters logic, number, geometry, probability, statistics, and time. Martin gardners article on the paradoxical situations that arise from nontransitive. Paradoxes about truthtellers, liars, crocodiles, and barbers. Time travel and other mathematical bewilderments index of. Gardner was not a christian, but he did believe in martin gardner konrad jacobs, erlangen. Each puzzle is accompanied by both a short, direct explanation and more indepth discussion generalizing the particular insight to other relevant problems and, in some cases, offering more. Previously published separately, the two books aha gotcha and aha insight are. Ten amazing mathematical tricks northeastern university.
Inspired by and learned at age 10 from father\s papersonknife trick and later from local tulsa magic buffs, including roy wabash hughes, logan waite and roger montandon. Every fall provides a special excuse for all thinking people to celebrate recreational math, magic and rationality, some of the. Tilt the torch so that it shines against the side of the box rather than directly towards the holes. A variety of puzzles and riddles with simple, but not easily divined, solutions from martin gardner, former mathematical games columnist for scientific american back when it was still very intellectual. Gardners illuminating autobiography is a candid selfportrait by the man evolutionary theorist stephen jay gould called our single brightest.
List of martin gardner mathematical games columns wikipedia. Paradoxes to puzzle and delight, martin gardner, 1978 and 1982. You can find a tribute that i wrote to martin gardner on the american mathematical society feature column web page. Since then he has published more than 60 books, most of them about mathematics and science, but also philosophy and literature. This book twisted my brain up as a child by the same logic, the tiger couldnt be the penultimate word, either, because if you read up to the thirdtolast word, youd know the tiger would come next, and youd exp warning. Martin gardner, problem 27 in science fiction puzzle tales. This book has been recently reprinted by dover press. Oct 21, 2014 the top 10 martin gardner scientific american articles. Gardner was not a christian, but he did believe in. The origin of the material in these books is explained in fernando q. Gotcha paradoxes to puzzle and delight martin gardner contents preface. About the author martin gardner published his first book in 1935. Pentagames and puzzlegrams, pentagram, 1990 and 1989.
Mathematical games has written more than 60 books on mathematics, magic, alice in wonder land, and scores of other topics. Martin often related how he had never taken calculus or any college level mathematics course, or indeed any mathematics after leaving high school in 1932. Praise for martin gardners new edition of calculus made easy sylvanus lllompsons calcuius mmie easy is arguahly the best. Martin gardner october 21, 1914 may 22, 2010 was an american popular mathematics and popular science writer, with interests also encompassing scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writings of lewis carroll, l. The aha books, as they are referred to by fans of martin gardner, contain 144 wonderful puzzles from the reigning king of recreational mathematics. His work covers mathematics, magic, literary criticism, the paranormal, religion, and paradox, and he exemplifies the crosspollination and hybridization that can accompany reflexivity. Aha gotcha paradoxes to puzzle and delight pdf aha. Bruce torrence 2010 more people have probably learned more good mathematical ideas from gardner than from any other person in the history of the worlddonald knuth martin often related how he had never taken calculus or any college level mathematics course, or indeed any mathematics after leaving high school in 1932.
When i was a young math teacher back in the 60s, i read an interesting article by martin gardner in scientific american magazine on how to build your own soma cube, a 4x4x4 cube consisting of about my memory fails me 56 or so smaller pieces, that, if you were persistent, could be dissembled and reassembled into the original cube. I put together this simple listing to help me trace which book a remembered essay actually appears in. Martin gardner had died the previous day at the age of 95. He had many interests, so he wrote about many topics. The mathematical games column in scientific american that began in january 1957 is. He wrote about mathematics, magic, literature, philosophy, skepticism, and religion. Previously published separately, the two books aha.
The mathematical games column in scientific american that began in january 1957 is a legend in publishing, even though its been. The top 10 martin gardner scientific american articles. It may have happened in 1959, when at age 14 i happened to visit the home of. Martin gardner october 21, 1914may 22, 2010 was an american writer. Gardners antipathy towards the supernatural was perhaps a natural outgrowth of his academic interests, skepticism, proficiency and understanding of conjuring techniques, and improbably his religious beliefs. Admirers of martin gardners work will also enjoy the book the mathematical gardner, d. Gotcha, martin gardner presents a humorous and engaging collection of puzzles from six areas.
Martin gardner the person of martin gardner illuminates reflexivity. Ib a nonmathematician, its simplicity and clarity reveals the mathe matical genius of newton, leibniz, and thompson himself. It is a field in which dozens of startling new effects may be invented before this book has been a year on sale. Gotcha is derived from the paradox box, a set of filmstrips, cassettes, and teachers. Its kind of an odd book, in that the cartoony style is a little dated and it really looks more like a kids book or a young adult book. Simply hold the watch flat and point the hour hand in the direction of the sun as shown. Gardner introduces us to truthtellers, liars, ravens, and barbers in these imagi. Astronomy watch becomes comp ass did you know that a watch can be used as a reliable compass on any day the sun is visible.
Grokora martin gardner was an american mathematics and science writer specializing in. Celebrations of mind honor maths best friend, martin gardner. Martin gardner october 21, 1914, tulsa, oklahoma is a popular american mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing magic conjuring, literature especially lewis carroll, pseudoscience, philosophy, and religion. Martin gardner, 19142010, one of the most influential. The great martin gardners mathematical games columns in scientific american were assembled, over the years, into fifteen volumes. Ml select any word in the first two lines of the above familiar poem. Each of the arrows within a particular board is colored uniquely.
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