Martin Gardner, 1914-2010

[ultrafilter]

With this, we've lost one of the most effective popularizers of mathematics and skepticism of the late 20th century. I can't speak to his work on skepticism, but Mr. Gardner's writings on recreational mathematics certainly had an effect on my educational path. There are statements from James Randi and Phil Plait, with more to surely follow. Godspeed, Mr. Gardner.

[Tom Tildrum]

His was such an amazing mind. What a loss for the world.

[astro]

Loved his articles back in the day.

[twickster]

Sad news not just for mathematicians but for puzzle folks.

[rowrrbazzle]

[hajario]

Originally Posted by twickster

Sad news not just for mathematicians but for puzzle folks.

And skeptics. What a great loss.

[Valgard]

Well damn. I have some of his books (Aha! and What Is The Name Of This Book? amongst them), enjoyed rereading them for decades (!) and I always liked his columns in Scientific American.

[panache45]

I used to love his column in Scientific American.

[samclem]

Alice in Wonderland. Mathematician on mathematician. Cage match. RIP.

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

Originally Posted by panache45

I used to love his column in Scientific American.

As did I. It was he who, probably around 1966, introduced an eight-year-old boy to the compelling Escher prints which, now framed under glass in official Baarn reproductions, adorn the walls my study:

Relativity,
Waterfall,
Ascending and Descending,
Convex and Concave--

and in the hall between the study and the bathroom, Belvedere.

I have about five more but don't have any place for them right now, and will eventually rotate them the way they do that at real galleries.

They all seemed to conjure up a strange dream world of aberrant spatial relationships; the generally serene expressions of the people in the prints seemed to strengthen this impression of mine.

[asterion]

I haven't read much of what he wrote, but I found my mother's copy of Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science years ago and read that. It seems more pertinent now than it might have been in 1957. Or maybe it just seems that the Internet allows that kind of crap to spread more.

[Zeldar]

Sorry he's gone. He, Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan were the bright lights in my "pop science" reading. Others have done creditable work in the field, but Gardner's way of putting dense concepts in layman's terms was without a serious challenge.

His games efforts were also outstanding.

[Indian]

R I P from an admirer halfway across the world .

[hajario]

Originally Posted by samclem

Alice in Wonderland. .

I just bought his Annotated Alice a couple of weeks ago. My nephew heard about it and wanted it so I gave it to him and have to buy another one. I didn't get a chance to read it.

[Tamerlane]

Sad, he was a great writer.

But 96 years is a pretty damn good run. A toast to Martin Gardner!

[johnpost]

a great teacher.

[Topologist]

RIP Martin Gardner. I'm sure there are many like myself who read him when we were young and, partly because of that, went on to become mathematicians. And then there are the wonderful annotated editions of Lewis Carroll! Including my favorite, The Hunting of the Snark.

[Snowboarder Bo]

[CalMeacham]

Damn. I have several of his books, and avidly read both his Scientific American column, then the one in Skeptical Inquirer. I even wrote him about a mathematical games column, and got a postcard reply back from him.

I also loved his "Annotated" books. I have his Annotated Alice in both first and third editions, The Hunting of the Snark, The Ancient Mariner, and Casey at the Bat. He also did the Night Before Christmas, but I don't have a copy of that one.

I'm not surprised -- he was definitely getting on in years, but I was amazed at how he still kept writing.


If you get a chance, read his book Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener. Very unlike most of his other published stuff.

[Scarlett67]

I was amazed to learn not very long ago that he was still alive. Always enjoyed his writings. RIP.

[Exapno Mapcase]

My favorite anecdote about Martin Gardner is that he originated the now famous list of "coincidences" about the lives of Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy after his assassination. He did it deadpan in one of his early columns about "numerologist" Dr. Matrix as a way of showing how ridiculously easy it is to put together a list of similarities that have apparent deep meaning. Of course, people have taken it seriously and added to it continually over the years, making his point in the most ironic fashion.

I have all the rest of his Scientific American column books as well. They and the Isaac Asimov science columns in F&SF were my favorites as introductions to science and math.

[Thudlow Boink]

Well, phooey.

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

I'm not surprised -- he was definitely getting on in years, but I was amazed at how he still kept writing.

I'm not surprised either, really... I mean, the thread title caught me by surprise, but in a "I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later" kind of way.

If you get a chance, read his book Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener. Very unlike most of his other published stuff.

Absolutely—highly recommended.


I figure the average IQ of the world just went down by a couple of points.

"I think Martin knows everything." -Isaac Asimov

[rowrrbazzle]

Originally Posted by Exapno Mapcase

I have all the rest of his Scientific American column books as well. They and the Isaac Asimov science columns in F&SF were my favorites as introductions to science and math.

Me too.

I also have The Annotated Alice in paperback, as well as the hardcover More Annotated Alice and The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition.

Originally Posted by Valgard

Well damn. I have some of his books (Aha! and What Is The Name Of This Book? amongst them)

The latter is by Raymond Smullyan. Gardner did promote it, and it is a great book.

[Annie-Xmas]

I absolutely love the Annotated Alice books.

[Icerigger]

Too bad, a great loss. BTW I believe he just came out with a new book.

[Pleonast]

Martin Gardner was a strong influence on me to enjoy mathematics, science and computer programming. One of the reasons I learned to code was to solve his puzzles. I wrote to him about one of my programming solutions when I in junior high and he actually wrote back a very encouraging letter. The world needs more people like him.

[bup]

Thanks for posting this - I missed it. Liked his Scientific American column.

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

Don’t have anything more to add for Gardner, but will just toss in this anecdote:

There was an actor Martin Garner, who specialized in bit parts playing little Jewish old men. At one time, his entry on findagrave actually showed a photo of the still-living Martin Gardner. When I saw it, I alerted the person who had posted it, but I don’t know if my message was enough to convince them.

[Tom Scud]

I read Fads and Fallacies some time when I was in junior high, I think; it still forms the primary basis of my knowledge about a lot of crank science.

[Damfino]

Fads and Fallacies and The Annotated Alice are amongst my favourite books. Sad to hear of his departure. RIP.

[suranyi]

Like many here, I loved his "Mathematical Games" column in Scientific American. For a while, when I was a teenager in the 70s, I had a subscription. His column was the one thing I would never skip a word of.

[Ximenean]

Martin Gardner was one of my favourite people too, and I am sad to hear of his death.

My dad was a fan, and when I was a kid there were always a few Gardner books such as "Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions" around the house, which some of us kids got round to reading ourselves. My love of puzzles and recreational mathematics goes directly back to those books. They were stuffed full of intriguing notions. The Unexpected Hanging. Cantor's intoxicating proofs of different levels of infinity. The fascinating and novel puzzles. And so on. They really were a treasure trove of ideas.

[Beware of Doug]

The guy was a real polymath, in a way that isn't really possible today.

[Wendell Wagner]

What do you mean it isn't possible to be a similar sort of polymath today? I know lots of people whose interests are as wide as Gardner's. They haven't written a wide range of essays and books like he did, but that's always going to be a rare thing. Being an extremely prolific author will always be rare, but it's really not that difficult to be extremely varied in one's interests.