Gardner at his best

books:

	• Aha!: Aha! Insight and Aha! Gotcha (Spectrum) (Spectrum) Martin Gardner Mathematical Assn of Amer, 2006 - 380 pages average customer review:based on 1 review view larger image
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Gardner at his best

This book contains the complete texts of the two classic Gardner productions, Aha! Gotcha and Aha! Insight. If you have not read both of these books, then you are mathematically deprived, as they contain some of the best mathematical puzzles ever created. Many people in the business world tout the concept of "lateral thinking", which is a way to approach problems by attacking them from unusual and non-obvious directions. That is certainly the way to approach the problems in this collection, and the benefit to the reader is a good deal more than the solution to a problem. You cannot help but learn some mathematics.
The title of the second book is an accurate reflection of the consequences of solving these problems. When the solution is presented, the very demonstration gives you some significant insight into how problems are solved in general, as well as the specifics of math problems. Many of the puzzles have applications to the problems that occur in real life, such as how housework should be divided between two people to minimize the frustrations.
Martin Gardner has done more than anyone else to advance the general interest in mathematics and you can see why when you read each problem in this combined collection. He is a master at making the complex simple and disguising the simple as complex.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission

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"aha! Gotcha" and "aha! Insight" are here combined as a single volume. The aha! books, as they are referred to by fans of the author Martin Gardner, contain 144 wonderful puzzles from the reigning king of recreational mathematics. In this combined volume, you will find puzzles ranging over geometry, logic, probability, statistics, number,time, combinatorics, and word play. Gardner calls these puzzles aha! problems. He explains that aha! problems "seem difficult, and indeed are difficult if you go about trying to solve them in traditional ways. But if you can free your mind from standard problem solving techniques, you may be receptive to an aha! reaction that leads immediately to a solution. Don't be discouraged if, at first, you have difficulty with these problems. Try your best to solve each one before you read the answer. After a while you will begin to catch the spirit of offbeat , nonlinear thinking, and you may be surprised to find your aha! ability improving." Studies show that persons who possess a high aha! ability are all intelligent to a moderate level, but beyond that level there seems to be no correlation between high intelligence and aha! thinking. So dig into some of the puzzles in this book, and prepare yourself for an aha! experience.

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