Martin Gardner's Mathematical Games columns in Scientific American inspired and entertained several generations of mathematicians and scientists. Gardner in his crystal-clear prose illuminated corners of mathematics, especially recreational mathematics, that most people had no idea existed. His playful spirit and inquisitive nature invite the reader into an exploration of beautiful mathematical ideas along with him. These columns were both a revelation and a gift when he wrote them; no one--before Gardner--had written about mathematics like this. They continue to be a marvel. This volume was originally published in 1989 and contains columns from published 1976-1978. This 1997 MAA edition contains three new columns written specifically for this volume including the resurrection of the lamented Dr. Matrix.

Another superb collection of articles from Martin Gardner, the king of recreational mathematics.

Upon publication, the first edition of the CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics received overwhelming accolades for its unparalleled scope, readability, and utility. It soon took its place among the top selling books in the history of Chapman & Hall/CRC, and its popularity continues unabated. Yet also unabated has been the d

David Singmaster believes in the presentation and teaching of mathematics as recreation. When the Rubik's Cube took off in 1978, based on thinly disguised mathematics, he became seriously interested in mathematical puzzles which would provide mental stimulation for students and professional mathematicians. He has not only published the standard mathematical solution for the Rubik's cube still in use today, but he has also become the de facto scribe and noted chronicler of the recreational mathematics puzzles themselves.Dr Singmaster is also an ongoing lecturer of recreational mathematics around the globe, a noted mechanical puzzle collector, owner of thousands of books related to recreational mathematical puzzles and the 'go to' source for the history of individual mathematical puzzles.This set of two books provides readers with an adventure into previously unknown origins of ancient puzzles, which could be traced back to their Medieval, Chinese, Arabic and Indian sources. The puzzles are fully described, many with illustrations, adding interest to their history and relevance to contemporary mathematical concepts. These are musings of a respected historian of recreational mathematics.

This book provides an elementary introduction, complete with detailed proofs, to the celebrated tilings of the plane discovered by Sir Roger Penrose in the '70s. Quasi-periodic tilings of the plane, of which Penrose tilings are the most famous example, started as recreational mathematics and soon attracted the interest of scientists for their possible application in the description of quasi-crystals. The purpose of this survey, illustrated with more than 200 figures, is to introduce the curious reader to this beautiful topic and be a reference for some proofs that are not easy to find in the literature. The volume covers many aspects of Penrose tilings, including the study, from the point of view of Connes' Noncommutative Geometry, of the space parameterizing these tilings.

Published in 1955 under the direction of psychiatrist William Sadler, The Urantia Book is the largest and most sophisticated work of New Age literature ever produced. Well-known skeptic and acclaimed popular science writer Martin Gardner presents a complete history of the Urantia movement, from its beginnings in the early 20th century to the present day.

This book is for any physicist interested in new vistas in the domain of non-crystalline condensed matter, aperiodic and quasi-crystalline networks and especially glass physics and chemistry. Students with an elementary background in thermodynamics and statistical physics will find the book accessible. The physics of glasses is extensively covered, focusing on their thermal and mechanical properties, as well as various models leading to the formation of the glassy states of matter from overcooled liquids. The models of agglomeration and growth are also applied to describe the formation of quasicrystals, fullerenes and, in biology, to describe virus assembly pathways./a