Welcome to this week’s Math Munch! We’re going to revisit the work of Martin Gardner, look at some beautiful mathematical art, and see if we can dig into a college’s “problem of the week” program.
Martin Gardner
Last October, I wrote about Martin Gardner. He is one of the great popularizers of mathematics, known for his puzzles, columns in Scientific American, and over 100 books. Around the time of his birthday, October 21st, each year, people around the world participate in a global “Gathering4Gardner” — a so-called Celebration of Mind.
One of Martin Gardner’s many puzzles
These are gatherings of two or more people taking time to dig into the kinds of mathematics that Martin Gardner loved so much. Below you can find lots of ways to participate and share with family, friends, or strangers.
First, If you want to learn more about Gardner himself, here’s a very detailed interview. You can also try solving some of Gardner’s great puzzles. We featured both of these last year, but I recently found a whole new page of resources and activities for the Celebration of Mind.
In the video on the left you can see a geometric vanish like those we’ve previously featured (Get off the Earth, and Chocolate). The second is a surprising play on the Möbius Strip which we’ve also featured before (Art and Videos + Möbius Hearts). I hope you’ll find some time this week to celebrate Martin Gardner’s love of math and help grow your own. (Though, I guess if you’re reading this, you already are!)
Up next, check out the work of artist Elena Mir. This video shows a series of artworks she created over the last four years. They feature stacks of cut paper to form geometric shapes, and they make me wonder what I could make out of cut paper. If you make something, please let us now.
It reminds me of the work of Matt Shlian that we featured in our very first post. You can watch Matt’s TED Talk or visit his website to see all sorts of cutouts and other paper sculptures, plus incredible videos like the one below. It might be my favorite video I’ve ever posted on Math Munch.
Finally, Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota has a weekly problem that they offer to their students, and the problem archives can be found online. These are for college students, so some of them are advanced or phrased in technical language, but I think we can find some that all of us can dig in to. Give these a try:
Have a mathematical week, and let us know if you do anything for the Celebration of Mind. Bon appetit!
Math Munch 