Martin Gardner

This witty and engaging book examines the various fads, fallacies, strange cults, and curious panaceas which at one time or another have masqueraded as science. Not just a collection of anecdotes but a fair, reasoned appraisal of eccentric theory, it is unique in recognizing the scientific, philosophic, and sociological-psychological implications of the wave of pseudoscientific theories which peri

"A fascinating, challenging book." ― A.L.A. BooklistLearn to use the most important codes and methods of secret communication in use since ancient times. Cipher and decipher codes used by spies. Explore the famous codes that changed the fate of nations and political leaders. And enjoy hours of fun experimenting with cryptography ― the science of secret writing.Beginning with simple let

A pocket book of riddles, full of fun and illustrations

The Flight of Peter Fromm is a novel of ideas disguised as the biography of a young man from a Pentecostal fundamentalist background in Oklahoma, who loses his faith while a student at the University of Chicago Divinity School. His spiritual odyssey is narrated by his mentor, a professor at the divinity school - who is actually a humanist who believes neither in God nor in an afterlife. Although P

"[Gardner] zaps his targets with laserlike precision and wit."― Entertainment Weekly Martin Gardner is perhaps the wittiest, most devastating unmasker of scientific fraud and intellectual chicanery of our time. Here he muses on topics as diverse as numerology, New Age anthropology, and the late Senator Claiborne Pell's obsession with UFOs, as he mines Americans' seemingly inexhaustible appetite fo

In this lively collection, Gardner examines the rich and hilarious variety of pseudoscientific conjectures that dominate the media today. With a special emphasis on parapsychology and occultism, these witty pieces address the evidence put forth to support claims of ESP, psychokinesis, faith healing, and other pseudoscience.

s/t: Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes & ProblemsWhether discussing hexaflexagons or number theory, Klein bottles or the essence of "nothing," Martin Gardner has single-handedly created the field of "recreational mathematics." The Colossal Book of Mathematics collects together Gardner's most popular pieces from his legendary "Mathematical Games" column, which ran in Scientific America

This delightful collection from the magician of math introduces readers to magic squares, the Generalized Ham Sandwich Theorem, origami, digital roots, an update of the Induction Game of Eleusis, Dudeney puzzles, the maze at Hampton Court palace, and many more mathematical puzzles and principles."Gardner is often the clown prince of science. . . . His Mathematical Games column in Scien

These clearly and cleverly presented mathematical recreations of paradoxes and paperfolding, Moebius variations and mnemonics both ancient and modern delight and perplex while demonstating principles of logic, probability, geometry, and other mathematical fields."A classic."—Andrew Rothery, Times Education Supplement"Martin Gardner has turned a trick as neat as any i

Over a period of 25 years as author of the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American, Martin Gardner devoted a column every six months or so to short math problems or puzzles. He was especially careful to present new and unfamiliar puzzles that had not been included in such classic collections as those by Sam Loyd and Henry Dudeney. Later, these puzzles were published in book collections,

Seasoned with Gardner's interest in the history and philosophy of science, this delightful book is a treasure-trove of puzzles, anecdotes, games, and logical theory. These intriguing problems, collected from Gardner's Scientific American columns, involve knots, interlocking rings, rotations and reflections, logical paradox, two-dimensional universes, chess strategies, and gambling odds.<br /

Book by Gardner, Martin

Since the publication of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity in 1905, the discovery of such astronomical phenomena as quasars, pulsars, and black holes — all intimately connected to relativity — has provoked a tremendous upsurge of interest in the subject. This volume, a revised version of Martin Gardner's earlier Relativity for the Million, brings this fascinating topic up to date. Witty, per

Mathematical puzzles are designed to strengthen creative problem-solving by encouraging the discovery of simple solutions to seemingly complex problems

Finally collected in one volume, Martin Gardner's immensely popular short puzzles; along with a few new ones from the master. For more than twenty-five years, Martin Gardner was Scientific American's renowned provocateur of popular math. His yearly gatherings of short and inventive problems were easily his most anticipated math columns. Loyal readers would savor the wit and elegance of his explora

The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix draws us into the intriguing and fascinating world of numbers and number theory. "Numbers, you know, have a mysterious life of their own. It would be naive," claims Dr. Matrix, "to suppose that there is such a thing as a randomly arranged group of symbols." Consider, for example, the decimal expansion of pi. Long considered a random series, it is actually rich with

s/t: From Penny Puzzles, Card Shuffles and Tricks of Lightning Calculators to Roller Coaster Rides into the Fourth Dimension

s/t: Discourses on Godel, Magic Hexagrams, Little Red Riding Hood, and Other Mathematical and Pseudoscientific TopicsMartin Gardner—"one of the most brilliant men and gracious writers I have ever known," wrote Stephen Jay Gould—is the wittiest, most devastating debunker of scientific fraud and chicanery of our time. In this new book Gardner explores startling scientific concepts, such as the

Here's a bonanza of 93 stimulating brainteasers, ideal for limbering and strengthening young mental muscles. Many of the puzzles are classics, while others are presented here for the first time. Ridiculous riddles, tantalizing teasers, intricate mazes, deceptive illusions, tricky questions, and a host of unusual word and picture puzzles offer young readers hours of challenging fun.Youngsters

The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener showcases Martin Gardner as the consummate philosopher, thinker, and great mathematician that he is. Exploring issues that range from faith to prayer to evil to immortality, and far beyond, Garnder challenges the discerning reader with fundamental questions of classical philosophy and life's greater meanings.Recalling such philosophers was Wittgenstein a

"What makes Gardner so appealing is his ease in exploring deep ideas . . . and making them accessible to the interested but nontechnical reader. This is a special talent and no one has ever displayed it quite as well as he does." — Los Angeles Times"Absorbing; enlightening; lucid; witty; inventive. An exemplar of science writing at its very best." — American Mathematical MonthlyA subst

s/t: More games, puzzles, paradoxes &amp; other mathematical entertainments from Scientific American : with thoughts from readers, afterthoughts ... from the author, and 105 drawings &amp; diagramsThe twenty chapters of this book are nicely balanced between all sorts of stimulating ideas, suggested by down-to-earth objects like match sticks and dollar bills as well as by faraway objects like

Describes puzzles involving time travel paradoxes, hexes, stars, cards, anamorphic art, magic squares, and polygons

Libro de divulgación científica de Martin Gardner acerca de temas relacionados con la simetría y la asimetría en la cultura humana, en la ciencia y en el universo.Publicado por primera vez en 1964, el original en inglés fue publicado nuevamente en 1969, en 1979, en 1990 y en el 2005 (las dos últimas se publicaron con la anotación: "Tercera edición, revisada"). Originalmente publicado c

In The Night Is Large, Martin Gardner has assembled forty-seven challenging and inquisitive essays into a work that places him at the heart of twentieth-century American intellectual culture. Delving into an immense range of topics, from philosophy and literature to social criticism to mathematics and science, with essays that date from 1930s to the 1990s, Martin Gardner has astounded readers with

Best known as the longtime writer of the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American—which introduced generations of readers to the joys of recreational mathematics—Martin Gardner has for decades pursued a parallel career as a devastatingly effective debunker of what he once famously dubbed “fads and fallacies in the name of science.” It is mainly in this latter role that he is o

Martin Gardner wrote the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American for twenty-five years and published more than seventy books on topics as diverse as magic, philosophy, religion, pseudoscience and Alice in Wonderland . His informal, recreational approach to mathematics delighted countless readers and inspired many to pursue careers in mathematics and the sciences. Gardner's illuminating a