Martin Gardner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Martin Gardner
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 ​ (m. 1952)​
Children	2
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Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914 – May 22, 2010) was an American writer who made math and science fun. He was also very interested in scientific skepticism, magic tricks, philosophy, and literature. He especially loved the books by Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, and G. K. Chesterton.

Gardner was a top expert on Lewis Carroll. His book The Annotated Alice, which explained Carroll's famous Alice books, sold over a million copies! He loved magic his whole life. In 1999, MAGIC magazine called him one of the "100 Most Influential Magicians of the Twentieth Century." Many people thought he was the best puzzle creator in America. He wrote more than 100 books.

Gardner was famous for making recreational mathematics popular. This means math that is fun and like a game. He did this mainly through his "Mathematical Games" columns in Scientific American magazine for 25 years. He also published many books that collected these columns.

He was also a strong voice against pseudoscience (fake science). His 1957 book Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science was a very important book for the skeptical movement. In 1976, he helped start CSICOP (now called the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry). This group encourages using science and logic to check unusual claims.

About Martin Gardner

Martin Gardner as a high school senior in 1932.

Early Life and Education

Martin Gardner was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His father, James Henry Gardner, was a well-known petroleum geologist. His mother, Willie Wilkerson Spiers, was a teacher trained in the Montessori method. She taught Martin to read before he started school.

His mother read him The Wizard of Oz, which started his lifelong love for the Oz books. His interest in math began when his father gave him a puzzle book by Sam Loyd.

He went to the University of Chicago. There, he studied history, literature, and science. He earned a degree in philosophy in 1936. After college, he worked as a reporter and a social worker. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy for four years. He was on a ship called the USS Pope in the Atlantic Ocean.

After the war, Gardner went back to the University of Chicago for a year of graduate school. In 1950, he wrote an article about "junk science." This article later became his first book, In the Name of Science, published in 1952.

Starting His Career

In the late 1940s, Gardner moved to New York City. He worked as a writer and editor for Humpty Dumpty magazine. He wrote stories and features for children's magazines for eight years. His paper-folding puzzles in Humpty Dumpty led to his first work for Scientific American.

For many years, Gardner, his wife Charlotte, and their two sons lived in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. He worked as a freelance writer, publishing many books and articles. In 1960, his most famous book, The Annotated Alice, was first published.

Later Years and Passing

In 1979, Gardner left Scientific American. He and his wife Charlotte moved to Hendersonville, North Carolina. He kept writing math articles for different magazines. He also updated some of his older books.

Charlotte passed away in 2000. In 2004, Gardner moved back to Oklahoma to be near his son. He passed away there on May 22, 2010. His autobiography, Undiluted Hocus-Pocus, was published after he died.

Martin Gardner's Impact

Martin Gardner had a huge impact on mathematics in the late 1900s. His "Mathematical Games" column ran for 25 years. Many mathematicians and scientists who grew up between 1956 and 1981 read it. His writing inspired many people to pursue careers in math and science.

Famous people like Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov admired Gardner. David Auerbach said Gardner might be one of the most important writers of the 20th century. He believed Gardner helped create more young mathematicians and computer scientists than almost anyone else. Colm Mulcahy called him "the best friend mathematics ever had."

Gardner's column introduced many popular math ideas to the public. These include Conway's Game of Life, the Mandelbrot set, and Penrose tiles. He also helped make M. C. Escher's art famous. Gardner wrote to Escher in 1961, and their letters led to Gardner sharing Escher's unique art with the world.

His writing was known for being both wide-ranging and deep. Noam Chomsky said Gardner's contribution to thinking was special. Gardner often told the public about new math discoveries. He wrote about topics like knot theory, Fibonacci numbers, and four-dimensional space.

Gardner set a new high standard for writing about math. He once said that not knowing too much advanced math helped him write clearly. This allowed average readers to understand what he was saying.

Gardner's Network of Thinkers

Gardner had a large network of experts and hobbyists. They shared information and ideas with him. This group was called "Gardner's mathematical grapevine."

This network helped connect many people who then worked together. For example, mathematicians Conway, Berlekamp, and Guy met through Gardner. They later wrote an important book on game theory. Gardner also introduced Doris Schattschneider and Marjorie Rice, who worked on documenting new tile patterns.

Gardner said his network gave him many ideas for his columns. He always checked his facts carefully for mathematical accuracy. He kept detailed notes of all his conversations. This led to columns about topics like polyominoes by Solomon W. Golomb and the Game of Life by John H. Conway.

Many famous thinkers were part of Gardner's network. These included mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, philosophers, and magicians.

Mathematical Games Column

For over 25 years, Gardner wrote a monthly column for Scientific American. It was about recreational mathematics (math puzzles and games). It started with an article he wrote in December 1956 about hexaflexagons. These paper shapes became very popular.

The magazine's publisher asked Gardner if there was more material like this for a regular feature. Gardner thought so. His first column, "Mathematical Games," appeared in January 1957. He wrote almost 300 more columns after that.

"Mathematical Games" became the most popular part of the magazine. Many readers turned to it first. It ran from 1956 to 1981. It introduced many subjects to a wide audience, including:

• Flexagons (Dec 1956)
• The Game of Hex (Jul 1957)
• The Soma cube (Sep 1958)
• Squaring the square (Nov 1958)
• Polyominoes (Nov 1960)
• Conway's Game of Life (Oct 1970)
• Penrose tilings (Jan 1977)
• Public-key cryptography (Aug 1977)

Even though he wrote about math, Gardner had trouble with calculus in school. He never took a math course after high school. He got the idea for his column after a magician friend showed him flexagons.

Gardner's son once asked him his favorite puzzle. Gardner quickly said, "The monkey and the coconuts." This puzzle was featured in his April 1958 column.

In the 1980s, "Mathematical Games" appeared less often. Other writers started sharing the column. The last one under that title was in June 1986. In 1981, when Gardner retired, Douglas Hofstadter's "Metamagical Themas" replaced the column. This new title was an anagram of "Mathematical Games."

Almost all of Gardner's "Mathematical Games" columns were later published as books. The first one came out in 1959. Over the next 40 years, 14 more books followed.

Public Key Cryptography Explained

In August 1977, Gardner wrote a column called "A new kind of cipher that would take millions of years to break." In it, he described a new way to send secret messages. This system was invented by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman. It was called RSA (after their last names).

RSA is now used in most secure ways to send data over computers. Gardner's column helped make this important new technology known to the public.

Fighting Fake Science and Promoting Skepticism

Gardner was a strong critic of fringe science (ideas that pretend to be scientific but aren't). His book Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (1952) helped start the modern skeptical movement. It showed why many strange ideas were not true. These included dowsing rods, Flat Earth theory, and extra-sensory perception.

This book and his later efforts made many people who believed in "alternative science" upset. Stephen Jay Gould called Gardner "The Quack Detector." He said Gardner helped get rid of nonsense and was a "priceless national resource."

In 1976, Gardner helped create the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (now called the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry). Other smart people like Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov joined this group. From 1983 to 2002, Gardner wrote a monthly column for their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer.

Gardner often criticized Uri Geller, a self-proclaimed Israeli psychic. Gardner wrote books explaining how Geller's tricks, like mentally bending spoons, were just illusions.

He continued to criticize fake science throughout his life. He spoke out against topics like astrology, UFO sightings, and creationism. Skeptical Inquirer named him one of the Ten Outstanding Skeptics of the Twentieth Century. He received awards for his work in promoting skepticism.

Magic and Illusions

Martin Gardner loved magic and illusions his whole life. It started when his father showed him a trick that seemed impossible. He wrote for a magic magazine when he was 15. He also worked in a department store showing magic tricks.

Gardner mainly focused on micromagic (table or close-up magic). He invented many new tricks. Magician Joe M. Turner said Gardner's book, The Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic, is a favorite among magicians. His first magic book for the general public, Mathematics, Magic and Mystery (1956), is still considered a classic.

Many of Gardner's friends were also magicians. These included James Randi, who Gardner considered his closest friend. Math and magic were often linked in Gardner's work. His "Mathematical Games" column often featured math-based magic tricks.

In 1999, Magic magazine named Gardner one of the "100 Most Influential Magicians of the Twentieth Century." In 2005, he received a 'Lifetime Achievement Fellowship' from the Academy of Magical Arts.

Annotated Books

Gardner was a leading expert on Lewis Carroll. His special version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass was called The Annotated Alice (1960). It explained the many math puzzles, word games, and literary references in the Alice books. He later published updated versions with new notes.

Before Gardner, annotated books were mostly for scholars. But he was the first to create such a book for the general public. Many other writers then followed his example. Gardner also made annotated editions of other famous books and poems.

Novels and Short Stories

Gardner wrote two novels. He was a big fan of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. In 1988, he published Visitors from Oz, based on those characters. He was also a founding member of the International Wizard of Oz Club.

His other novel, The Flight of Peter Fromm (1973), explored his interest in religious belief. His short stories were collected in The No-Sided Professor and Other Tales (1987).

Autobiography

When he was 95, Gardner wrote his autobiography, Undiluted Hocus-Pocus. He wrote it on a typewriter, cutting and gluing parts together. The title came from a poem by his friend Piet Hein. The poem shows Gardner's sense of wonder about life.

We glibly talk
 of nature's laws
but do things have
 a natural cause?

Black earth turned into
 yellow crocus
is undiluted
 hocus-pocus.

Wordplay and Puzzles

Gardner loved wordplay. He helped create a magazine about recreational linguistics (fun with language) called Word Ways. He also wrote a "Puzzle Tale" column for Asimov's Science Fiction magazine.

Gardner was part of a literary club called the Trap Door Spiders. This club inspired Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.

Pen Names and Fictional Characters

Gardner often used different names for his writing. For children's magazines, he wrote as "Humpty Dumpty Jnr" and "Polly Pigtails." He wrote a funny version of a poem under the name "Nitram Rendrag" (his name spelled backward).

He also used the name "Uriah Fuller" for two books criticizing the psychic Uri Geller. Later, he wrote parodies of poems as "Armand T. Ringer," which is an anagram of his name. Once, he even wrote a negative review of his own book under a fake name, George Groth.

In 1960, Gardner created a fictional character called "Dr. Matrix" for his "Mathematical Games" column. He pretended that Dr. Matrix wrote everything in these columns. Later, Dr. Matrix even published an article about Gardner in a math journal!

Math Education Ideas

In 1998, Gardner wrote his last article for Scientific American. He said, "For 40 years I have done my best to convince educators that recreational math should be incorporated into the standard curriculum." He believed fun math could get young students interested in the subject.

He remembered a math teacher scolding him for working on a math puzzle as a boy. He thought this attitude was wrong. He noted that a magazine for math teachers often had articles on fun math, but most teachers didn't use them.

Awards and Legacy

Martin Gardner received many awards, including:

• 1987 – Leroy P. Steele Prize for his math books and articles.
• 1971 – L. Frank Baum Memorial Award from the International Wizard of Oz Club.
• 1980 – An asteroid (2587 Gardner) was named after him.
• 1990 – Allendoerfer Award from The Mathematical Association of America (MAA).
• 1999 – Listed as one of the "100 Most Influential Magicians of the Twentieth Century" by Magic magazine.

The Mathematical Association of America holds a "Martin Gardner Lecture" each year. It celebrates his work in recreational mathematics.

Gathering 4 Gardner

Martin Gardner kept writing until he passed away in 2010. His fans came from many different backgrounds. Because of this, an entrepreneur named Tom Rodgers decided to host a weekend event. It would celebrate Gardner's contributions to math, puzzles, magic, and literature.

Gardner was a shy person and usually avoided public honors. But Rodgers convinced him to attend the first "Gathering 4 Gardner" (G4G) in Atlanta in 1993.

A second gathering was held in 1996, and Gardner attended again. A TV show called "Martin Gardner: Mathemagician" was made about him. After this, Rodgers and his friends decided to hold the gathering every two years. Many famous mathematicians and artists have attended these events.

The G4G meetings feature topics that Gardner wrote about. The first one was G4G1 in 1993. Since then, they have been held in even-numbered years, always in Atlanta.

See also

• Boy or Girl paradox
• Divisibility rule
• Hexapawn
• Homicidal chauffeur problem
• Polyabolo
• Strong law of small numbers
• Unexpected hanging paradox