1st Edition
Mathematical Wizardry for a Gardner
In this volume, world-leading puzzle designers, puzzle collectors, mathematicians, and magicians continue the tradition of honoring Martin Gardner, who inspired them to enter mathematics, to enter magic, to bring magic into their mathematics, or to bring mathematics into their magic. This edited collection contains a variety of articles connected to puzzles, magic, and/or mathematics, including the history behind given puzzles, solitaire puzzles, two-person games, and mathematically interesting objects. Topics include tangrams, peg solitaire, sodoku, coin-weighing problems, anamorphoses, and more!
Preface
In Memoriam
Frank Harary
Gary Chartrand
Harary
Jeremiah Farrell
Spin a Tale
The Ig Nobel Prizes
Stanley Eigen
Martin Gardner and Paperfolding
David Lister
. . . Nothing but Confusion? Anamorphoses with Double Meaning
Istvan Orosz
Ponder a Puzzle
Peg Solitaire with Diagonal Jumps
George I. Bell
The Grand Time Sudoku and the Law of Leftovers
Bob Harris
Patulous Pegboard Polygons
Derek Kisman, Richard Guy, and Alex Fink
Beamer Variant
Rodolfo Kurchan
Packing Equal Circles in a Square
Peter Gabor Szabo
Bring a Friend
Uncountable Sets and an Infinite Real Number Game
Matthew H. Baker
The Cyclic Butler University Game
Aviezri S. Fraenkel
Misere Play of G-A-R-D-N-E-R, the G4G7 Heptagon Game
Thane Plambeck
Play with Numbers
The Association Method for Solving Certain Coin-Weighing Problems
Dick Hess
The Art of Ready Reckoning
Mogens Esrom Larsen
Spherical Algebra
Istvan Lenart
Mathematical Idol
Colm Mulcahy
The Elevator Problem
David Rhee and Jerry Lo
Take a Shape
Jordan as a Jordan Curve
Robert Bosch
Wang Tiles, Dynamical Systems, and Beatty Difference Sequences
Stanley Eigen
The Trilobite and Cross
Chaim Goodman-Strauss
Orderly Tangles Revisited
George W. Hart
Quasi-Periodic Essays in Architectural and Musical Form
Akio Hizume
Ellipses
Robert Barrington Leigh, Ed Leonard, Ted Lewis, Andy Liu, and George Tokarsky
Dances with Tangrams (and without Wolves)
Karl Schaffer
Two Special Polyhedra among the Regular Toroids
Lajos Szilassi
Biography
Ed Pegg Jr, Alan Schoen, Tom Rodgers
This is the second volume of papers mostly based on oral presentations at the Seventh Gathering for (Martin) Gardner held in March, 2006 in Atlanta, GA. Following two essays by G. Chartrand and J. Farrell in memory of the late Frank Harary, there are 24 articles ... [with numerous] papers on geometry ... [and] other papers discuss[ing] recreations ... For two people, there is a game that can be used to establish that the closed unit interval is uncountable as well as two games on directed graphs.
—E. J. Barbeau, Mathematical Reviews, June 2010Anyone who enjoys learning about the mathematics behind problems will enjoy this book. ... Mathematical Wizardry for a Gardner poses interesting, engaging problems while also including an emphasis on post-high school mathematics. If you enjoy both, then this book is for you.
—Cynthia Taylor, Mathematics Teacher, May 2010Most people enjoy puzzles, and it is only natural to feel good when you have solved a particularly difficult one. It is even more rewarding to invent a new puzzle that captivates the minds of the general public. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that there are groups of people who get together for the sole purpose of sharing new puzzles and new solutions to old puzzles. Gathering for Gardner (G4G) is just such a convention, and the contents of this book are from the seventh G4G (G4G7) conference. G4G conferences occur every two years to pay tribute to Martin Gardner, who rose to fame with his mathematical games columns in Scientific American. Since the book consists of 24 very different chapters, this review provides only a brief taste of what it has to offer. ... this fun book is a welcome change from the newspaper puzzles that I typically do on my way home from work.
—Bernard Kuc, Computing Reviews, January 2010This volume collects 24 articles drawn from presentations given at a March 2006 meeting honoring Martin Gardner, who has played a large role in popularizing recreational mathematics ... The topics discussed are as broad as those that Gardner wrote about and include the mathematics of such puzzles and games as tangrams, peg solitaire, sudoku, coin-weighing problems, and anamorphoses.
—Book News Inc., September 2009This book is the second of two volumes gathering most of the oral presentations delivered at the seventh of those conferences, held in 2006. ... some of the articles contain, strictly speaking, little mathematics; their subject could be more rightly labelled as puzzles, games, and other curious objects which are, however, likely to intrigue a mathematician, professional or amateur. ... This book is intended as recreational reading, and it is addressed to a very wide audience, including non-mathematicians and amateurs.
—Fabio Mainardi, MAA Reviews, August 2009