In case you've not already heard, I have just been told that Martin
Gardner has passed away.
He was, of course, responsible for many excellent books of mathematical
puzzles. He had a defintie knack of being able to make something simple
enough to understand but still keeping enough mathematics there to be
worthwhile.
The world is certainly a poorer place without him.
He certainly inspered me to love mathemaitcs. Had I not read his books
some years ago, my life would have been very different. I don't think I
am exagerating if I say that without his books I would not have passed
A-level mathematics...
True story : Many years ago I was given a couple of his books as a
Newtonsday presnet. Once contained a chapter on base -2 arithmeatic. I
spent the next day or so designing a base -2 full-adder circuit and
soldering it up. Never found any practical use for it, but...
-tony