http://www.michaelshermer.com/2002/03/hermits-and-cranks/ books, essays, columns, reviews, and multimedia clips of famed skeptic Michael Shermer Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:11:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.michaelshermer.com/2002/03/hermits-and-cranks/comment-page-1/#comment-4088 Neal Koss Thu, 27 May 2010 03:14:56 +0000 http://michaelshermer.com/writing/2002/03/01/hermits-and-cranks/#comment-4088 This was a fine tribute to great man, truly 1 in many millions. His SciAm column was like no other. He never ran out of interesting stories to attach to his wonderful mathematical "stuff". Who can forget Dr Matrix? And his books go on and on. I have a wonderful collection that I cherish. This was a fine tribute to great man, truly 1 in many millions. His SciAm column was like no other. He never ran out of interesting stories to attach to his wonderful mathematical “stuff”. Who can forget Dr Matrix? And his books go on and on. I have a wonderful collection that I cherish.

]]> http://www.michaelshermer.com/2002/03/hermits-and-cranks/comment-page-1/#comment-4083 Tony Q. King Tue, 25 May 2010 00:49:24 +0000 http://michaelshermer.com/writing/2002/03/01/hermits-and-cranks/#comment-4083 I wished I had read this "obit" before emailing the NY Times obit, The SciAm one and yes, even Randi's to a bunch of folks I know. This short article pretty well sums up Gardner for the great majority of people who, scratching their collective heads, mutter "who the hell was THIS dude?". Need I say Hoi-Polloi? I'm sure many of the folks I emailed to, had never even heard of him. No doubt they are consulting their I-Ching or Homeopathic remedies instead. I came across Gardner more than half-a-century ago, when my father bought me- a 15 year-old nerd, a copy of Sci-Am. After puzzling over the too-detailed articles (were they PhD theses?) about Rabbit embryos and why Tau-Mesons turn left in the cyclotron, I finally found an article that I could understand! And I continued to read him until his column sadly ended in that once-great magazine. Where is science in North America going today? Sorry if I sound bitter. I wished I had read this “obit” before emailing the NY Times obit, The SciAm one and yes, even Randi’s to a bunch of folks I know.
This short article pretty well sums up Gardner for the great majority of people who, scratching their collective heads, mutter “who the hell was THIS dude?”.
Need I say Hoi-Polloi?
I’m sure many of the folks I emailed to, had never even heard of him. No doubt they are consulting their I-Ching or Homeopathic remedies instead.
I came across Gardner more than half-a-century ago, when my father bought me- a 15 year-old nerd, a copy of Sci-Am. After puzzling over the too-detailed articles (were they PhD theses?) about Rabbit embryos and why Tau-Mesons turn left in the cyclotron, I finally found an article that I could understand!
And I continued to read him until his column sadly ended in that once-great magazine.
Where is science in North America going today?
Sorry if I sound bitter.

]]> http://www.michaelshermer.com/2002/03/hermits-and-cranks/comment-page-1/#comment-4079 William Satire Sun, 23 May 2010 10:14:06 +0000 http://michaelshermer.com/writing/2002/03/01/hermits-and-cranks/#comment-4079 This is a fitting tribute to Martin. I've fond childhood memories of hexa-flexagons and puzzles that were completely beyond me. He will be sadly missed. This is a fitting tribute to Martin. I’ve fond childhood memories of hexa-flexagons and puzzles that were completely beyond me. He will be sadly missed.

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