Portland Public Library

The Jinn from hyperspace and other scribblings--both serious and whimsical, Martin Gardner

eng

Includes bibliographical references

illustrations

no index present

non fiction

The Jinn from hyperspace and other scribblings--both serious and whimsical

bibliography

631169931

Martin Gardner

This new collection of Gardner gems takes its name from an essay on a mathematical theme, about a jinn (or genie) trapped in a "Klein Bottle" - an amusing tale that also teaches the math phobic something interesting about a theoretical one-sided object with no distinction between inside and outside. Other topics in math and physics include speculations about universes where time runs in reverse; the Banach-Tarski paradox (whereby a sphere, after being deconstructed, can be reassembled at twice its size); and a vigorous defense of the objective reality of mathematical theorems independent of human culture

The false memory wars -- The sad case of Father Shanley -- Penrose : The road to reality -- Penrose : The emperor's new mind -- Time-reversed worlds -- The ars magna of Ramon Lull -- The Banach-Tarski paradox -- Transcendental numbers and early birds -- A defense of Platonic realism -- The Jinn from hyperspace -- Satan and the apple -- Blabbage's decision paradox -- Professor Cracker's antitelephone -- Energy from the vacuum? -- Popco -- Four letters -- Is beauty truth? -- Is string theory in trouble? -- Do loops explain consciousness? -- Chesterton : The Flying Inn -- Chesterton : Manalive -- The night before Christmas -- The great crumpled paper hoax -- So long old girl -- Queen Zixi of Ix -- The enchanted island of Yew -- John Dough and the cherub -- The magical monarch of Mo -- American fairy tales -- Mother Goose in prose -- How the Oz club started -- Sylvie and Bruno -- Phantasmagoria -- The nursery Alice -- Alice's adventures under ground -- The two Alice books