Martin Gardner wrote the Mathematical Games column for
"Scientific American" for twenty-five years and published more than
seventy books on topics as diverse as magic, philosophy, religion,
pseudoscience, and "Alice in Wonderland." His informal,
recreational approach to mathematics delighted countless readers
and inspired many to pursue careers in mathematics and the
sciences. Gardner's illuminating autobiography is a disarmingly
candid self-portrait of the man evolutionary theorist Stephen Jay
Gould called our "single brightest beacon" for the defense of
rationality and good science against mysticism and
anti-intellectualism.Gardner takes readers from his childhood in
Oklahoma to his college days at the University of Chicago, his
service in the navy, and his varied and wide-ranging professional
pursuits. Before becoming a columnist for "Scientific American," he
was a caseworker in Chicago during the Great Depression, a reporter
for the "Tulsa Tribune," an editor for "Humpty Dumpty," and a
short-story writer for "Esquire," among other jobs. Gardner shares
colorful anecdotes about the many fascinating people he met and
mentored, and voices strong opinions on the subjects that matter to
him most, from his love of mathematics to his uncompromising stance
against pseudoscience. For Gardner, our mathematically structured
universe is undiluted hocus-pocus--a marvelous enigma, in other
words.
"Undiluted Hocus-Pocus" offers a rare, intimate look at
Gardner's life and work, and the experiences that shaped both.
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