10 Top 10 Martin Gardner Lists

    It's easy to think up categories for which a Top 10 Martin Gardner list would be fun to come up with, and perhaps also instructive, though hardly ever definitive.

    Once you have six or seven of these, it seems natural to aim higher and try for ten, especially since 10 x 10 = 100. What better way to mark a centennial?

  1. Top 10 Things Every Mathematics Student Should Know about Martin Gardner (Math Horizons)

    2. Who was Martin Gardner? Was he a writer or a mathematician? A magician or a mysterian? A philosopher or a skeptic? All of the above, it turns out, and much more.

  2. Top 10 Martin Gardner Books (Huffington Post)

    3. Which of his 100 books are essential, and why?

  3. Top 10 Martin Gardner Scientific American articles (Sci Am)

    4. He wrote 300 Scientific American articles? Which ones are the classics, and what are they about?

  4. Top 10 Martin Gardner Card Tricks (Max Maven)

    5. He loved close-up card magic, and invented a lot of tricks. What are his best ones?

  5. Top 10 Martin Gardner Non-Card Tricks (Max Maven)

    6. What are his best close-up magic tricks that don't involve cards?

  6. Top 10 Martin Gardner Physics Stumpers

    7. He loved science and physics puzzles too. Here are some classics he enjoyed posing.

  7. Top 10 Martin Gardner Contributions to Skepticsm

    8. Was Martin really one of the founders of the modern skeptical movement? Didn't he just write one book on that topic? Actually, he was first and last a debunker, and devoted a great deal of his energy and time to this cause.

  8. Top 10 Martin Gardner Alter Egos

    9. What names did Martin use when he was writing for children's magazines in the early 1950s? Who was Dr. Matrix? What pseudonym(s) did Martin use for some of his poetry?

  9. Top 10 Martin Gardner Obscure Facts

    10. Did you know that Martin had artist skills and used to do caricatures, and that he played a role in inspiring the creation of The Wiz musical?

  10. Top 10 Martin Gardner Trivia Quiz (Scientific American)

    11. How that you've mastered the basics, and maybe read his memoirs too, are you ready for a quiz?
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