Martin Gardner’s Mathematical Games column in Scientific American fascinated and mystified readers for decades—and his legacy continues to

Math and Puzzle Fans Find Magic in Martin Gardner’s Legacy

submited by
Style Pass
2024-10-30 10:00:03

Martin Gardner’s Mathematical Games column in Scientific American fascinated and mystified readers for decades—and his legacy continues to bring mathematicians, artists and puzzlers together.

Gardner had no formal mathematical training, and his path to science and math writing was a strange one. “He started out as a child magician, and the last thing he published was also a magic trick, about a month before he died,” says Colm Mulcahy, a professor emeritus of mathematics at Spelman College. “He started and finished with magic.” But in between Gardner had an 80-year publishing career as a writer and journalist and published more than 100 books. He became an expert at explaining math, science and skepticism to the public and perplexed people all over the world with his puzzles and paradoxes.

Gardner “didn’t have the high profile of his contemporary Richard Feynman or his friend Isaac Asimov, and he lacked the PR instincts of Salvador Dalí, who sought him out [to discuss four-dimensional shapes], or Steve Jobs,” Mulcahy says. “But his legacy might yet exceed theirs.” And Mulcahy would know—he is chair of the Gathering 4 Gardner Foundation, which runs a biennial conference that draws mathematicians, magicians and puzzle fanatics from around the world to talk about what fascinates them, as well as monthly talks and presentations on recreational mathematics, puzzling, science, and more.

Leave a Comment