Whether discussing hexaflexagons or number theory, Klein bottles or the
essence of "nothing," Martin Gardner has single-handedly created the
field of "recreational mathematics." The Colossal Book of Mathematics
collects together Gardner's most popular pieces from his legendary
"Mathematical Games" column, which ran in Scientific American for
twenty-five years. Gardner's array of absorbing puzzles and
mind-twisting paradoxes opens mathematics up to the world at large,
inspiring people to see past numbers and formulas and experience the
application of mathematical principles to the mysterious world around
them. With articles on topics ranging from simple algebra to the
twisting surfaces of Mobius strips, from an endless game of Bulgarian
solitaire to the unreachable dream of time travel, this volume comprises
a substantial and definitive monument to Gardner's influence on
mathematics, science, and culture.
In its twelve sections, The Colossal Book of Math explores a wide
range of areas, each startlingly illuminated by Gardner's incisive
expertise. Beginning with seemingly simple topics, Gardner expertly
guides us through complicated and wondrous worlds: by way of basic
algebra we contemplate the mesmerizing, often hilarious, linguistic and
numerical possibilities of palindromes; using simple geometry, he
dissects the principles of symmetry upon which the renowned mathematical
artist M. C. Escher constructs his unique, dizzying universe. Gardner,
like few thinkers today, melds a rigorous scientific skepticism with a
profound artistic and imaginative impulse. His stunning exploration of
"The Church of the Fourth Dimension," for example, bridges the disparate
worlds of religion and science by brilliantly imagining the spatial
possibility of God's presence in the world as a fourth dimension, at
once "everywhere and nowhere."
With boundless wisdom and his trademark wit, Gardner allows the reader
to further engage challenging topics like probability and game theory
which have plagued clever gamblers, and famous mathematicians, for
centuries. Whether debunking Pascal's wager with basic probability,
making visual music with fractals, or uncoiling a "knotted doughnut"
with introductory topology, Gardner continuously displays his fierce
intelligence and gentle humor. His articles confront both the
comfortingly mundane--"Generalized Ticktacktoe" and "Sprouts and Brussel
Sprouts"--and the quakingly abstract--"Hexaflexagons," "Nothing," and
"Everything." He navigates these staggeringly obscure topics with a deft
intelligence and, with addendums and suggested reading lists, he informs
these classic articles with new insight.
Admired by scientists and mathematicians, writers and readers alike,
Gardner's vast knowledge and burning curiosity reveal themselves on
every page. The culmination of a lifelong devotion to the wonders of
mathematics, The Colossal Book of Mathematics is the largest and most
comprehensive math book ever assembled by Gardner and remains an
indispensable volume for the amateur and expert alike.
