Martin Gardner
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Martin Gardner | |
Born | October 21, 1914, Tulsa, Oklahoma |
---|---|
Died | May 22, 2010, Norman, Oklahoma |
Residence | United States |
Nationality | US |
Institutions | Unknown |
Alma mater | UChicago |
Martin Gardner was a mathematician, writer, and Scientific American columnist, where his 'Mathematical Games' lasted from 1956 to 1981 until Douglas Hofstadter took over. His SciAm column The fantastic combinations of John Conway's new solitaire game "life"[1][2] was the first to deal with the game, introducing rules, pattern names and challenges - one of them, funded by Conway himself, led to the discovery of the first gun.
His books deal with maths, games and creeds. Wheels, Life, and Other Mathematical Amusements contains all his columns about Conway's Game of Life.
Patterns first published by Gardner
Most of these patterns were obviously found by Conway himself.
- arch (pi)
- beacon
- beehive
- blinker
- block
- clock
- cross
- glider
- honey farm
- Latin cross
- letter H
- pentadecathlon
- pinwheel
- pulsar 'CP 48-56-72'
- quilt
- R-pentomino
- spaceships
- toad
- traffic lights
References
- ↑ Scientific American 223 (October 1970): 120-123
- ↑ "The fantastic combinations of John Conway's new solitaire game "life"".
External links
- Martin Gardner at Wikipedia
- Download link for Gardner's three articles on Game of Life