Martin Gardner is a famous American-born mathematician. In addition to his passion for this science, he is also a writer who has published a huge number of books. Gardner has shown himself to be an outstanding and versatile person with a lifelong interest in various fields of science.
Biography
Martin Gardner was born on October 21, 1914 in the United States of America, in the state of Oklahoma. After leaving school, Martin attended college, which was founded by the University of Chicago. It was there that Martin Gardner was educated. After graduating from college, he already had a bachelor's degree in philosophy.
War years
When World War II began, Martin was called to the front. The mathematician ended up in the American navy, where he spent several years as a secretary of a ship - a yeoman. The ship on which Martin Gardner served was considered an escort destroyer. When the end of the war and the surrender of Japan were announced, the ship was in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
When the news came that the war was over, the writer was incredibly happy, because now he could do what interested him from early childhood, despite the fact that the service was not as hard as it could.
The end of the war
After the war was over, Martin returned to his native land. There he again took up his education and continued to study at the university. Martin Gardner studied for a year to get his master's degree, but he failed to defend his work to get a higher degree.
Literary activity
According to some sources, it is known that for many decades Martin Gardner lived with his family, which consisted of his beloved wife and two children, in Hastings-on-Hudson. It was there that the amateur mathematician began to develop in the literary field.
In order for the family to have a small but stable income, Martin had to work for a long time on the records that he then published. In addition, Gardner also wrote a huge number of small articles for magazines and newspaper publishers.
One of these magazines was the printed edition of Humpty Dumpty, which is often called the American "Murzilka". It was in it that Gardner's essays were published. In addition, the writer was also the author of many stories and stories that were intended for a children's audience. Martin Gardner's puzzles have made him widely known among America's young minds.
Peakpopularity
The peak of the writer's popularity was when he became interested in creating various tasks and puzzles that were not only mathematical, but also logical. One such collection of puzzles was Martin Gardner's Sphinx problems. Since little was known about the mystery of the Sphinx, there were questions that could only be answered by a logical connection from the conclusions drawn in the course of solving specific parts of the riddles.
It was useful for children, because by answering questions and adding up answers, they learned not only to reason logically, but also to draw conclusions about the results. The system for formulating a general conclusion on a particular topic looked something like this: "If this is this, and this is this, then it turns out that it was like this." It was these tasks that brought the greatest fame to the writer.
Martin Gardner's Math Puzzles and Fun
Besides his tasks, Martin was also the creator of many other logic games. Mathematical puzzles by Martin Gardner were very exciting, and this won public recognition. His works and games in entertaining mathematics became known to the whole world. For the writer himself, the word "entertaining" meant the same thing as "fascinating", "interesting in knowledge". However, Martin himself rejected any connection between entertaining study and empty entertainment, saying that in the study of serious things, these two concepts are in no way similar to each other and, rather, are absolute antonyms, rather thandistant synonyms.
In addition to teaching children to look for ways to solve complex problems, the author wrote a separate book that talked about how to correctly set a problem for yourself and look for a method to solve it. Martin Gardner's book "I Have an Idea" became a widespread success, as it turned out, not only among children, but also among an adult audience. The puzzles of the mathematician sometimes baffled even adults, but stubborn people could not back down without finding the answer.
Literary works
Fame came not only because of the mathematical puzzles of Martin Gardner, but because of his talent in literature. The writer was also fond of paranormal phenomena that took place in the world. Several books of mathematics were devoted to this topic. It cannot be said that paranormal phenomena have become the main theme in the writer's work, although many works are written specifically about the strange manifestations of another race in everyday life. These works told about their own observations and research, about the conclusions that Martin came to. His books about the existence of another race and life have become no less famous among readers.
Fiction
Besides this, Martin also wrote fiction. For example, "The Island of Five Colors" can be found on the shelves of bookstores today. Having written several fiction books, Martin formed a separate style of writing. And in fact, after reading at least one work of the writer, you can seethat the language in which the author expounds is not at all similar to the language of any American classic. Today, this style has even received a separate name - "Gardnerian", it is characterized by a convincing and vivid presentation of information, the accuracy of facts, an understandable and simple style. Often in Martin's works one can notice some paradoxes, completely new and modern judgments that the author found in various scientific papers and magazines.
The peculiarity of Martin Gardner's work lies in the fact that the author did not discover something new for the reader, he only pushed him to study something new and still unknown. With his works, the author forced the reader to independently conduct some research, analyze the information received, and independently draw conclusions. These works helped people to better understand the material they studied. Constant research, independent conclusion - this has become a kind of self-learning and self-education.
Writer's books
- This Right, Left World (1967).
- Mathematical Puzzles and Fun (1971).
- Mathematical Leisures (1972).
- Mathematical Novels (1974).
- "Mathematical Wonders and Mysteries" (1977).
- Relativity for Millions (1979).
- "Got an idea!" (1982).
- "Come on, guess!" (1984).
- Tic-Tac-Toe (1988).
- Time Travel (1990) and more.
Private life
After meeting his wife, Martin immediatelyrealized that she was exactly the woman who could support him throughout his life. The mutual feelings that arose between them were able to give rise to a strong union for many years. Understanding, supporting each other is something without which marriage is impossible. There was a strong bond between Martin and Charlotte.
After the wedding, the couple had two beautiful children - boys who, growing up, showed themselves to be smart and intelligent guys. The eldest son even received a higher education and took the position of professor of pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma. Martin's wife, Charlotte, died in 2000. This was a heavy loss for Gardner, who, already quite old, spent his old age in solitude.
The sunset of life's journey
In 2002, the writer decided to return to his homeland - Oklahoma. The reason for this was the work of his son, who was a professor at the University of Oklahoma. The son was glad to see his father, who was left all alone in North Carolina, where his wife died. Continuing his literary activity, Martin Gardner lived in Oklahoma until his very last days. But even at the end of his life, the writer continued to create. Martin Gardner's mathematical puzzles, which brought him recognition and love among children, continued to be published, and therefore the mathematician continued to come up with something new.
The writer died on May 22, 2010 in his home state at the age of 95. In the last hours that remained to Martin, son James was always near his father. Despitethat the writer lived a bright and interesting life, his death was a great loss not only for America, but for the whole world, because the works and books of Martin Gardner were widely known.
A final word
Martin Gardner has evolved throughout his life. He tried himself in different paths of science, wrote many works (more than 70) about what he discovered for himself, became known as the author of children's educational games. His achievements, despite his low position, cannot but be called outstanding. This man showed perseverance, talent and a desire to comprehend new things all his life. He showed knowledge in many scientific fields, so we can conclude how multifaceted the writer and mathematician was in his interests. Perseverance and the desire to reach a new level of self-development - that's what characterizes Martin Gardner as a person. It was thanks to him that many people began to appreciate science, finding in it an infinite number of new areas that are still not deeply studied. It was Martin's life work that became an incentive for many people to improve themselves.
