Martin Gardner is a famous mathematician born in America. In addition to his passion for this science, he is also a writer who has published a huge number of books. Gardner showed himself as an outstanding and versatile person, throughout his life keen on 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 a field of science such as philosophy.
War years
When the Second World War began, Martin was called to the front. The mathematician got into the US Navy, where he spent several years as secretary of the ship - Yeomen. The ship, which served as Martin Gardner, 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 interests him from early childhood, despite the fact that the service was not as difficult as it could be.
End of 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 whole year to get a master's degree, but he failed to defend his work to get a higher degree.
Literary activity
According to some reports, 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 an 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 on records for a long time, which he later published. In addition, Gardner also wrote a huge number of small articles for magazines and newspaper publishers.
One of these magazines was the Humpty Dumpty print edition, which is often called the American Murzilka. It was in him 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. The puzzles of Martin Gardner brought him fame among the young minds of America.
Peak of popularity
The very 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 of these collections of puzzles was Martin Gardner's Sphinx problem. Since little was known about the secret of the Sphinx, there were questions that could only be answered thanks to a logical connection from the conclusions made during the solution of specific parts of the riddles.
This was useful for children, because, answering questions and summing up the 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 specific topic looked something like this: "If this is this, and this is this, then it turns out that it was like that." It was such tasks that brought the greatest fame to the writer.
Math Puzzles and Fun by Martin Gardner
In addition to his tasks, Martin was also the creator of many other logic games. The mathematical puzzles of Martin Gardner were very exciting, which won public acclaim. His works and games in entertaining mathematics became known throughout the world. For the writer himself, the word "entertaining" meant the same thing as "fascinating," "interesting in cognition." However, Martin himself rejected any connection between entertaining study and empty entertainment, saying that in the study of serious things these two concepts are nothing at all alike and are rather absolute antonyms rather than distant synonyms.
In addition, to teach children how to solve complex problems, the author wrote a separate book, which talked about how to properly pose a problem and look for a method for solving it. Martin Gardner's book “There is an Idea” began to enjoy widespread success, as it turned out, not only among children, but also among an adult audience. The puzzles of a mathematician were sometimes confused even by adults, but stubborn people could not retreat without finding an 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 keen on paranormal events that took place in the world. Several books of mathematics were devoted to this topic. This is not to say that paranormal phenomena became the main theme in the writer's work, although many works were written specifically about the strange manifestations of another race in everyday life. In these writings, he described his own observations and studies, and the conclusions reached by Martin. His books on the existence of a different race and life became no less famous among readers.
Fiction
In addition, Martin also wrote fiction. For example, “Island of Five Colors” can be found on the shelves of bookstores today. After writing several fiction books, Martin formed a separate style of writing. And in fact, after reading at least one work of the writer, you can see that the language that the author sets out does not at all resemble the language of any American classic. Today this style has even received a separate name - "Gardner", it is characterized by a convincing and vivid presentation of information, accuracy of facts, understandable and simple syllable. Often in Martin's works one can notice some paradoxes, completely new and modern judgments, which the author found in various scientific works and journals.
A feature of Martin Gardner’s work is that the author did not discover something new for the reader, he only encouraged him to study something new and yet unknown. The author forced the reading person to conduct some research on his own, analyze the information received, and draw conclusions on his own. These works helped people better understand the material they studied. Constant research, independent conclusion - this has become a kind of self-training and self-education.
Writer books
- “This Right, Left World” (1967).
- "Mathematical puzzles and entertainment" (1971).
- "Mathematical leisure" (1972).
- "Mathematical short stories" (1974).
- “Mathematical Miracles and Secrets” (1977).
- "The theory of relativity for millions" (1979).
- "I have an idea!" (1982).
- “Come on, guess!” (1984).
- Tic Tac Toe (1988).
- Time Travel (1990) and more.
Personal life
When he met his wife, Martin immediately realized that she was the woman who could support him throughout her life. Mutual feelings that arose between them could create a strong union for many years. Understanding and supporting each other is something without which marriage is impossible. There was a strong connection between Martin and Charlotte.
After the wedding, the spouses had two beautiful children - boys, who, growing up, showed themselves to be smart and intelligent guys. The eldest son even graduated and became a professor of education at the University of Oklahoma. Charlotte's wife, Martin, died in 2000. This was a bereavement for Gardner, who, already quite middle-aged, spent his deep old age alone.
Sunset life path
In 2002, the writer decided to return to his homeland - to Oklahoma. The reason for this was the work of his son, who served as professor at the University of Oklahoma. The son was pleased with the arrival of his father, who was left completely alone in North Carolina, where his wife died. Continuing his literary work, Martin Gardner lived in Oklahoma until his very last days. But even at the end of his life, the writer continued to create. The mathematical puzzles of Martin Gardner, which brought him recognition and love among children, continued to be published, and therefore the mathematician continued to invent something new.
The writer died on May 22, 2010 in his native state at the age of 95. In the last hours that Martin remained, son James was always beside his father. Despite the fact that the writer lived a bright and interesting life, his death was a great loss not only for America but also for the whole world, because the works and books of Martin Gardner were widely known.
A few words in the end
Martin Gardner has developed throughout his life. He tried himself in various paths of science, wrote many works (over 70) about what he discovered for himself, became known as the author of children's educational games. His achievements, despite his low position, cannot be called outstanding. This person showed perseverance, talent and a desire to comprehend the new all his life. He showed knowledge in many scientific fields, so we can conclude how the writer and mathematician was multifaceted in his interests. Perseverance and the desire to achieve a new level of self-development - that is what characterizes Martin Gardner as a person. Thanks to him, 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 for many people an incentive for self-improvement.