Martin Gardner

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Martin Gardner died on Saturday. He was 95 years old. It’s hard to give a sense of Gardner’s wide ranging interests and contributions to someone who’s not familiar with his writings. And he was a writer. According to the NY Times obit, there are over 70 books with his name on it. Not to mention of course the mathematical recreation column for Scientific American through which most people first heard about him (me included).

He was a gifted explainer of science, literature, and philosophy. One of this books, The Night is Large, has taken up permanent residence on my nightstand. I can flip open the book and invariably find something of worth on pseudoscience, Laffer curves (remember that?), Newcomb’s paradox, Alice in Wonderland, time travel, and an entire essay on the subject of nothing.

Here’s a brief excerpt from one of his essays on the 19th century pseudo-science of phrenology, which supposes a relationship between skull shape and personality:

It should be said that anyone foolish enough to believe in phrenology should have his head examined, and of course that is what millions of people of all classes did in Europe, England, and America. Couples consulted phrenologists to decide if they should marry. Corporations demanded head examinations of prospective employees. New regions of the cranium were added until the count passed 150, with bumps for such traits as love of pets and desire to see ancient places. It is hard to believe, but phrenology even influenced American art, and Charles Thomas Walters, who teaches and writes on art has a chapter to prove it. Phrenology Applied to Painting and Sculpture was George Combe’s [lawyer and early proponent of phrenology] most popular mongraphs.”

Profile: Martin Gardner, the Mathematical Gamester (scientificamerican.com)
Martin Gardner Remembered October 21st 1914 – May 22nd 2010 (wired.com)

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