Raymond Smullyan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raymond Smullyan
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Raymond M. Smullyan in 2008.
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Raymond Merrill Smullyan
May 25, 1919 Far Rockaway, New York, U.S.
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| Died | February 6, 2017 (aged 97) Hudson, New York, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago Princeton University (PhD) |
| Spouse(s) | Blanche |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Logic |
| Institutions | Dartmouth College, Princeton University, Yeshiva University, Lehman College, City University of New York, Indiana University |
| Thesis | Theory of Formal Systems (1959) |
| Doctoral advisor | Alonzo Church |
Raymond Merrill Smullyan (May 25, 1919 – February 6, 2017) was an amazing American thinker. He was a mathematician, a magician, and a concert pianist. He also studied logic and philosophy.
Raymond Smullyan was born in Far Rockaway, New York. He started his career as a stage magician. He later earned degrees from the University of Chicago and Princeton University. He was known for his clever logic puzzles and books.
Contents
Early Life and Talents
Raymond Smullyan was born on May 25, 1919. His family lived in Far Rockaway, New York. His father was a businessman from Belgium. His mother was a painter and actress from London. Both of his parents loved music.
Raymond was the youngest of three children. He showed a talent for music from a young age. He played both the violin and the piano. He even had perfect pitch, meaning he could identify any musical note just by hearing it.
He won a gold medal in a piano competition when he was 12. He became interested in logic when he was only 5 years old.
Education and Career
After grade school, Raymond's family moved to Manhattan. He went to Theodore Roosevelt High School. He loved mathematics, especially geometry. He studied math on his own, learning about advanced topics.
He later attended the University of Chicago. He also worked as a magician at night. He taught piano at Roosevelt University. He earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1955.
Raymond then went to Princeton University. He earned his PhD in mathematics in 1959. His main teacher there was Alonzo Church, a famous logician.
After getting his PhD, Smullyan taught at many universities. These included Princeton, Lehman College, and Indiana University. He taught both college and graduate students. He was also a close friend of the famous mathematician and puzzle writer Martin Gardner.
Logic Puzzles and Books
Raymond Smullyan wrote many popular books. These books were about recreational mathematics and logic puzzles. His most famous book is What Is the Name of This Book?.
Many of his puzzles are based on classic riddles. One famous type is the "Knights and Knaves" puzzle. In these puzzles, knights always tell the truth. Knaves always lie.
Imagine you are on an island with knights and knaves. You need to find out which of two doors leads to safety. You can only ask one question to one guard.
A famous example of this puzzle was used in the 1986 movie Labyrinth. To solve it, you might point to a door and ask, "Will the other guard say this is the door to paradise?"
If the door is to paradise, both a knight and a knave would say "No." If the door is to hell, both would say "Yes." This helps you choose the correct door.
More Complex Puzzles
Smullyan made these puzzles even harder. He added characters called "normals" who might lie or tell the truth. Also, characters might use words for "yes" and "no" that you don't understand.
The puzzle known as "the hardest logic puzzle ever" uses these ideas. It's a real brain-teaser!
He also created "Transylvania puzzles." In these, half the people are insane and believe false things. The other half are sane and believe true things. On top of that, humans always tell the truth, and vampires always lie. This creates very tricky situations!
Inspector Craig Mysteries
Smullyan created a character named Inspector Craig. Inspector Craig stars in many of Smullyan's puzzle-novellas. He is a detective who solves crimes using mathematical and logical principles.
As Inspector Craig solves the crime, the reader also learns the logic behind it. Smullyan often includes extra chapters to explain the math more clearly.
His book To Mock a Mockingbird (1985) is a fun way to learn about a complex math topic called combinatory logic.
Philosophy and Music
Besides logic, Smullyan was interested in Taoism. This is an ancient Chinese philosophy. He believed Taoism could help solve many traditional philosophical problems. He thought it connected math, logic, and philosophy.
Raymond Smullyan was also a talented concert pianist. He released recordings of his favorite classical piano pieces. You can find some of his music online. He also wrote two books about his own life.
In 2001, a film was made about him called "This Film Needs No Title: A Portrait of Raymond Smullyan."
See also
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- Paradox
- The Lady, or the Tiger
Images for kids
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A robot, representing logic and problem-solving.
