Martin Gardner
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[edit] Definition
A noted mathematician, debunker and skeptic, famous for authoring the Mathematical Games column of the Scientific American from 1956 until 1986. Gardner has authored numerous books on mathematical puzzles, pseudoscience, science and philosophy.
[edit] Beliefs
Gardner subscribes to Theism. He is critical of organised religions, and skeptical of claims that God communicates or interacts directly with the world.
[edit] Quotes
- My theism is independent of any religious movement, and in the tradition that starts with Plato and includes Kant, and a raft of later philosophers, down to Charles Peirce, William James, and Miguel de Unamuno.
- I'm not sure why I enjoy debunking. Part of it surely is amusement over the follies of true believers, and partly because attacking bogus science is a painless way to learn good science. You have to know something about relativity theory, for example, to know where opponents of Einstein go wrong. You have to know something about probability and statistics to recognize Michael Drosnin's The Bible Code as hogwash. You have to know the power of the placebo and faith to see why Mary Baker Eddy is the very model of a quack.
[edit] References
[edit] Comments
[edit] Books written by this author
- Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (1957), first published as "In the Name of Science" (1952)
