Remembering Martin Gardner, Mathematical Magician

“I’m strictly a journalist.”

– Martin Gardner

Martin Gardner had no formal mathematical training. A newspaper reporter, publicist, freelancer for Esquire, caseworker, magician, skeptic, Navy sailor, and most famously, “Mathematical Games” columnist for Scientific American, Gardner displayed a boundless energy and enthusiasm for intellectual inquiry. A tireless advocate for science, his popular books and articles painstakingly argue against the dangers of pseudoscience in all forms.

On Saturday, Gardner passed away at the age of 95 in Norman, OK. TSoTP takes a look back.

Climate Change and a Skeptical Environmentalist on Earth Day

Today marks the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day – the birth of the modern environmental movement – and a great moment to reflect on how far we’ve come since 1970. In a year that witnessed the failed Copenhagen climate conference and steadily escalating conflicts between climate change skeptics and fervent environmental activists, it remains difficult to sort out answers amid the clamor.

In USA TODAY, Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and editor of the forthcoming Smart Solutions to Climate Change (September 2010), gives his rather optimistic perspective: “Earth Day: Smile, don’t shudder…“

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Given all the talk of impending catastrophe, this may come as a surprise, but as we approach the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day, people who care about the environment actually have a lot to celebrate. Of course, that’s not how the organizers of Earth Day 2010 see it. In their view (to quote a recent online call to arms), “The world is in greater peril than ever.” But consider this: In virtually every developed country, the air is more breathable and the water is more drinkable than it was in 1970. In most of the First World, deforestation has turned to reforestation. Moreover, the percentage of malnutrition has been reduced, and ever-more people have access to clean water and sanitation.

Apocalyptic predictions from concerned environmental activists are nothing new. Until about 10 years ago, I took it for granted that these predictions were sound. Like many of us, I believed that the world was in a terrible state that was only getting worse with each passing day. My thinking changed only when, as a university lecturer, I set out with my students to disprove what I regarded at the time as the far-fetched notion that global environmental conditions were actually improving.

Beatles-Mania in Pennsylvania

In the half-century since their founding, the lives and lyrics of The Beatles have won the hearts of an international fandom spanning generations… and captured the interest of two Penn State professors. Catch a clip of Cambridge Companion to the Beatles Editor Ken Womack and Contributor Jerry Zolten being interviewed on WPSU and check out an excerpt of the book.

Editing the History of Canadian Literature

Manuela Constantino of the quarterly Canadian Literature picked the perfect interview subjects for their latest issue: editors and contributors from The Cambridge History of Canadian Literature, including our own Sarah Stanton.

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The Martin Gardner Interview – Part 5

This 5th and final installment in Don Albers’ long interview with Martin Gardner clarifies his philosophical theism, tackles pseudoscience, and glimpses what he’s up to now. Remember, he’s still at it. Gardner just released revised editions of his Scientific American columns here at Cambridge, and has other projects in the works too. Start from the [...]