Martin Gardner
Sign in to saveAmerican mathematics and science writer (1914–2010)
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1914-10-21
- Died
- 2010-05-22
- Works
- 167
Top works
- Mathematical puzzles and diversions from Scientific American
- Harpatḳaʼot Alis be-erets ha-pelaʼot
- Catalogue of the exhibit of the Department of the interior, U.S.A., Centennial exposition of the Ohio valley and central states, Cincinnati, Ohio, July 4 to October 27, 1888
- Mi-baʻad la-marʼah
- Further Mathematical Diversons
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 14
- Total plays
- 33
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Martin+Gardner">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using
<b>lme4</b>
· 2015 · cited 73,090x
- Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test
· 1997 · cited 47,717x
- Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold
· 2021 · cited 41,509x
- STATISTICAL METHODS FOR ASSESSING AGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO METHODS OF CLINICAL MEASUREMENT
· 1986 · cited 37,522x
- Gene Ontology: tool for the unification of biology
· 2000 · cited 36,302x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “A surprising proportion of mathematicians are accomplished musicians. Is it because music and mathematics share patterns that are beautiful?”
- “I can say this. I believe that the human mind, or even the mind of a cat, is more interesting in its complexity than an entire galaxy if it is devoid of life.”
- “Mathemagical mathematics combines the beauty of mathematical structure with the entertainment value of a trick.”
- “The last level of metaphor in the Alice books is this: that life, viewed rationally and without illusion, appears to be a nonsense tale told by an idiot mathematician. At the heart of things science finds only a mad, never-ending quadrille of Mock Turtle Waves and Gryphon Particles. For a moment the waves and particles dance in grotesque, inconceivably complex patterns capable of reflecting on their own absurdity.”
- “There are, and always have been, destructive pseudo-scientific notions linked to race and religion; these are the most widespread and damaging. Hopefully, educated people can succeed in shedding light into these areas of prejudice and ignorance, for as Voltaire once said: "Men will commit atrocities as long as they believe absurdities."”
- “In many cases a dull proof can be supplemented by a geometric analogue so simple and beautiful that the truth of a theorem is almost seen at a glance.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Born
- ( 1914-10-21 ) October 21, 1914, Tulsa, Oklahoma , U.S.
- Died
- May 22, 2010 (2010-05-22) (aged 95), Norman, Oklahoma , U.S.
- Occupation
- Author
- Alma mater
- University of Chicago
- Genre
- Recreational mathematics , puzzles , close-up magic , annotated literary works , debunking
- Literary movement
- Scientific skepticism
- Notable works
- Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science , " Mathematical Games " ( Scientific American column), The Annotated Alice , The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener , The Ambidextrous Universe
- Notable awards
- Leroy P. Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition (1987) , George Pólya Award (1999) , Allendoerfer Award (1990), Trevor Evans Award (1998)
- Spouse
- Charlotte Greenwald ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1952 )
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914 – May 22, 2010) was an American writer on popular mathematics and popular science. His interests also encompassed magic, scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literature – especially the writings of Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, and G. K. Chesterton. He was a leading authority on Lewis Carroll; The Annotated Alice, which incorporated the text of Carroll's two Alice books, was his most successful work and sold over a million copies. He had a lifelong interest in magic and illusion and in 1999, MAGIC magazine named him as one of the "100 Most Influential Magicians of the Twentieth Century". He was considered the doyen of American puzzlers. He was a prolific and versatile author, publishing more than 100 books.
Gardner was best known for creating and sustaining interest in recreational mathematics—and by extension, mathematics in general—throughout the latter half of the 20th century, principally through his "Mathematical Games" columns. These appeared for twenty-five years in Scientific American, and his subsequent books collecting them.
Gallery (3)
Connections
Categories
1914 births2010 deaths20th-century American mathematicians20th-century American science writers20th-century pseudonymous writers21st-century American mathematicians21st-century pseudonymous writersAcademy of Magical Arts Lifetime Achievement Fellowship winnersAmerican critics of alternative medicineAmerican deistsAmerican literary critics