In the second half of the 20th century, isaac asimov, carl sagan and martin gardner were the three masters who dominated American science popularization for decades. Today, the first two have passed away, and only Mr. Gardner is still alive and continues to play his irreplaceable role in the field of mathematical communication.
Asimov has a very pertinent evaluation of Gardner: "martin gardner is an amateur super magic master, which is beyond doubt and consistent. But compared with one of his housekeeping skills, the magic tricks are dwarfed after all and may be avoided. It turns out that any mathematics subject in his hand can be written as an elegant and popular article, which is so wonderful that I can't put it down. " The Magic Number of Dr. The Matrix is such a wonderful book, with wide coverage, meaningful writing, humorous and interesting, extremely readable, and very profound humanistic heritage, which many readers will not let go until they finish reading it at one breath.
Martin gardner was born in Oklahoma, USA. 1936 graduated from the university of Chicago, majoring in philosophy. After graduation, I first worked as a reporter for Friends of the People, and later worked in the public relations department of the University of Chicago. After the outbreak of World War II, he served as an army reporter in the US Navy. He has been to India, Fiji, Southeast Asia, Turkey and many countries and regions in the Middle and Near East, and has a wide range of knowledge. After the war, he began his career as a freelance writer Martin gardner is brilliant, full of ideas, well-read and memorable, both in the fields of art and science. According to incomplete statistics, he has written more than 50 books so far, including Legends of Cryptography, Relative Theory that Everyone Can Understand, Universe with Different Representations, Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience, The Incredible Doctor of Matrix, and Mathematical Carnival. A brainwave, from surprise to thinking-mathematical paradox and so on.
Martin gardner won many awards. He was awarded the Excellent Scientific Author Award by american physical society and the American Iron and Steel Foundation (popular science writers are generally called "scientific authors" in the United States), and his portrait was published in Life magazine and Sony Weekly. Although he has never been a professor, many first-class mathematicians all over the world respect his name. In a word, he is a famous figure.
Heroes who spread mathematics popular science
As the physicist Douglas Hofstadter, martin gardner's successor, commented, "Mr Gardner is irreplaceable" and "he is a great hero of mathematics". He recruited soldiers for mathematics, introduced countless teenagers into the solemn hall of mathematics, attracted them to take it as a lifelong career with the charm and inner beauty of mathematics itself, and sought a branch subject that "hung his appetite" in all fields of pure mathematics and applied mathematics, so that he gradually grew into a top mathematics. He deserves to be the best propagandist, salesman, guide and "priest" in this subject so far.
Gardner's main activity is a long-term columnist for Scientific American, an advanced popular science magazine.
People who write articles in Scientific American magazine are generally experts in various fields of science and technology. As we all know, few people have published more than two articles in this magazine, and Gardner is a rare exception. From the first issue 1957 to the end of 1980, I have written articles almost every month for 24 years, with more than 200 articles before and after. The column of "Mathematical Games" arranged by him eventually became a "featured product" of the magazine, and of course it was also a genuine "fist product".
Martin gardner studied in thousands of books and took the road of Wan Li, and he was very knowledgeable. The articles published in popular mathematics cover almost every branch of mathematics, from the simplest arithmetic and algebra to unfathomable topology. The number, coverage and numerous "hot spots" of the super-poor people have attracted people's attention. Every reader can "get what he needs" and find reading materials that are suitable for his education level, extremely suitable and can be used by himself.
Although martin gardner is now 94 years old, his pen is still healthy. The summer before last, Scientific American magazine published his monograph Fifty Years of Interesting Mathematics, which was 8 pages long and no less than 20,000 words.
Some of martin gardner's best chapters are about topics above calculus in mathematics. Its main contents include number theory, graph theory, probability theory, group theory, matrix, combinatorial analysis, affine geometry, projective geometry, differential science, algorithm theory, topology and so on. These tall topics have always been regarded as "Chun Xue", and the general popular science writers always feel very headache and dare not touch them. Martin gardner, on the other hand, excavated a lot of treasures from it, which made him surpass his peers and be unique. In this respect, even Burleiman, a famous mathematical science writer in the Soviet Union, can't compare with him. As we all know, group theory is an important topic in modern mathematics, but it is mysterious in general textbooks. Often the teacher talks too much in class, and the students below still don't understand. However, martin gardner can explain many concepts of "group theory" in a very popular way with examples of military exercises (standing at attention, turning left, turning right and turning back) ...), wearing socks and braiding a girl's hair without compromising the rigor of the definition. This is really a great success! Therefore, his popular science works are very explanatory and effective for the teaching and dissemination of advanced mathematics. This is also the real value of his works.
Martin gardner attaches great importance to the quality of popular science articles, pays close attention to and often reports on the "three major innovations" in the field of mathematics: new ideas, new discoveries and new progress, and even dares to report on topics involving military secrets.
Mr Gardner is a man of many talents. He is full of energy, and his interests and achievements involve many aspects, far more than mathematics. Therefore, in order to commemorate Gardner's 65th birthday, experts decided to publish Mathematical Gardner.
And eagerly look forward to other books, such as magic Gardner, literature Gardner, philosophy Gardner and science Gardner.
Gardner is a master of asking interesting questions. Let's look at his question:
Five sailors came to a desert island with 1 monkey. When they saw a lot of coconuts on the island, they divided them into five piles on average. In the dead of night, a sailor sneaked up and took a pile of coconuts, and divided the remaining coconuts into five piles. As a result, an extra coconut was thrown to the monkey. After a while, another sailor sneaked up and took a pile of coconuts, and then divided the remaining coconuts into five piles. As a result, another coconut was thrown to the monkey. On such an eventful night, five sailors secretly hid a pile, redistributed coconuts, and gave the monkey an extra coconut every time to take advantage. The next morning, there were an average of five coconuts piled up on the island. Question: How many coconuts should there be at least? -This is the title of "Coconut for Sailors" proposed by martin gardner. There are many ways to solve this problem. It can be said that the Eight Immortals have crossed the ocean and displayed their magical powers.
Gardner's language is humorous, his writing is vivid and he understands the reader's psychology. His articles can meet the needs of all social strata, especially young readers. He often publishes some world-famous and interesting mathematical problems, which are completely different from the traditional Olympic mathematical competitions. They are extremely interesting, elegant and popular, and they can "catch" you at a glance, and they don't need a lot of preparatory knowledge, so you can't help trying. The problem can reach such a level that it can be described as "satisfactory". There are many ways to solve this kind of problem. For example, the "small fish eat big fish" problem involving operational research, and the "four big bugs" problem involving geometry and motion trajectory. Once these topics are disclosed, they will often cause a chain reaction. Letters from readers from all over the world poured in, which made the print run of Scientific American soar. Editor surprise gift. Some strangers became close friends because they solved the same problem, thus building a golden bridge between mathematicians and amateurs.
Martin gardner is a philosopher, so some of his popular science articles seldom use flowery rhetoric, but they contain profound philosophy. He convincingly proved that mathematicians can be both poets and painters.
Introduction of works
Gardner's interesting mathematical series includes Sam Lloyd's interesting mathematical problems, mathematical miracles, fascinating and interesting mathematical problems, modern Euclidean geometry, and infinite journey-about infinite cultural history, to test your logical reasoning ability, Gardner said in the preface: "In the process of selecting materials for this collection, I tried my best to find those unique ones. These interesting questions (many of which are published in the "OntheLightSide" column of the magazine "Science World" which I chair) have been divided into several chapters, each of which is aimed at a field in mathematics. The brief review at the beginning of each chapter explains some properties and importance of mathematical categories, which must be used to solve interesting problems in this chapter. In my answer, as long as space permits, I explained in detail how each problem was solved, and pointed out some attractive methods, which started from the topic and wound their way to more leafy areas in the mathematical jungle.
Perhaps, in the process of enjoying these interesting questions, you will find that mathematics is more lovely than you think. Perhaps, this will make you willing to study this subject seriously, or reduce your hesitation when starting to study a science that ultimately requires a little advanced mathematics knowledge.
Indeed, no one can doubt the great practical value of mathematics now. Without mathematical tools, there can be no discovery and invention of modern science. However, many people don't understand that mathematicians actually get pleasure from mathematics. In my words, after careful consideration, I solved an interesting problem with the right medicine, which was as pleasant as knocking down ten bowling pins with a bowling ball after repeated aiming. "
In "The Magical Numbers of Dr. The Matrix", martin gardner established a magical digital phalanx for us by tracking Dr. Owen Joshua of The Matrix; American presidential election, Oscar nomination and Hollywood Red Star prediction can all predict the inevitability of their results through the basic figures related to them? Here, Mr. Gardner uses narrative and comments to "reel off the cocoon" for us and present the wonderful combination of numbers in the digital kingdom to readers one by one. ...
The focus of this book is to oppose and criticize digital superstition. Different forms of digital superstition have appeared all over the world, such as Japanese "digital mysticism" and China's "magic number".
Although the United States is a highly modern country, the above trust is very popular in society. Presidential elections, Oscar nominations, predicting Hollywood red stars, and even giving a special birthday present will also ask wizards for advice. Astrology, physiognomy, telepathy, palmprint fortune-telling, biblical divination, yoga, looking at crystal balls ... have appeared one after another, which is really a spectacle. Dr. martin gardner's The Matrix has been published in Scientific American, a world-famous advanced popular science magazine, for 20 years in a row, which fully shows the keen vision of magazine editors: in today's American society, breaking modern superstitions is still a long-term and unremitting cause. On the other hand, serial articles always have a large number of readers, which fully proves that the articles are targeted and can get to the point, so they are widely welcomed by people from all walks of life.
Martin gardner is a world-famous popular science writer. He spared no effort to publicize mathematical science all his life, from topology and group theory to arithmetic and algebra, and absorbed countless people into the temple of mathematical science. His achievements are indelible.
This book is another masterpiece of Gardner. He tried his best to write this book, and his writing style was different from many of his other works. There is only one principle: stand on the opposite side of superstition and always spare no effort to combat it. Expose, criticize and get rid of all kinds of crooked ways, and show no mercy to pseudoscience. However, Mr Gardner used a very unique brushwork, that is, playing hard to get. A way of restraining first and then promoting. Deliberately blew up Dr. Matrix, the hero of the book, and then played his cards to expose his deception and his tricks in broad daylight. This brilliant creative skill and imaginative plot are much more powerful than the feeble "criticism" and more in line with the national conditions of the United States. At this point, it is very similar to the condemnation novels of the late Qing Dynasty obtained by Mr. Lu Xun in the history of China's novels, such as The Appearance of Officialdom and The Phenomenon of Twenty Years.
Fascinating math interesting topics/Gardner's interesting math series, this book has a relaxed style and a humorous style. Among them, interesting topics cover all kinds of mathematical topics: arithmetic, money, speed, plane and solid geometry, countermeasures, probability, topology and so on. There are also some subtle and interesting questions for you to have a quick brain teaser. Every interesting question is followed by a detailed answer.
This is an interesting book. Take you into the wonderful kingdom of mathematics with a relaxed and humorous style. The interesting topics in the book cover almost all kinds of mathematical topics, such as arithmetic, money, speed, plane and solid geometry, countermeasures, probability, topology and so on. The book is divided into ten chapters, and these topics are discussed in an interesting way. Moreover, every interesting question has a detailed answer behind it, and it is really a pleasure to rack your brains to find the answer of "bright future". These interesting math problems can stimulate your thinking enthusiasm and make you have the desire to explore and learn math and logic in a conscious, positive and happy mood. You can sit back and relax, think deeply about those interesting questions, and also be used as mental gymnastics after meals. And many interesting questions are related to real life. Active thinking in sports. I believe you can gain knowledge and experience through thinking. You will find that even in strict logic, there is endless vividness and interest, and the seemingly rigorous math problems can be easily connected with daily life. As the title, it's really charming.