Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Science Luminary Martin Gardner Dead at 95

Posted by timothy on from the sad-to-note dept.

From James Randi's blog comes word that science writer Martin Gardner has died at the age of 95. I never met Gardner, but one of his books (Entertaining Science Experiments With Everyday Objects) has been a favorite of mine since I was 6 or 7 years old; I didn't realize until just now quite how many books he authored.

3 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. Aha by eulernet · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Before I discovered Martin Gardner's books, I was unable to understand mathematics, and I had very bad grades.

    One day, I bought one of his books, and suddenly, I was able to see that math and logic was fun, and we could play with them.

    To the amazement of my teachers, my grades increased in a few days, and I wanted to become a mathematician at this moment.

    I became a programmer because I wanted to solve some of his puzzles so badly with my computer.

    Thanks Martin !

  2. One Less of the People Who Shaped My Mind by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What a sad day. A single book that shaped me even in college from a man who could somehow make Mathematics fun. Now I'll never know him personally but I'll always know that a collection of his puzzles put me on track to be who I am today. While writers as popular as Clarke and Sagan shaped me as well, Gardner is in the lesser known category that shaped me just as much if not more.

    A near maniacal thirst to algorithmically solve puzzles was instilled in me from his mind via plain old paper.

    Rest in peace, Martin Gardner.

    --
    My work here is dung.
  3. Gathering for Gardner Dragon by GrendelT · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In his honor, I'd like to link to the 3D paper dragon that was created for Gathering for Gardner.
    RIP Gardner.