I recently came across something interested that I wanted to share with you in this short post. Apparently, “mathemagicians” are a real thing, and they’re not just from The Phantom Tollbooth. Check out below for more information!
But first, a quick announcement.
There won’t be any post next week because I’ll be flying all that weekend back to Cambridge. This module should definitely be interesting given that we’re learning about playwriting. I’ll be sure to come back with some more awesome writing info!
OK, back to math and magic….
What Are They?
For starters, if you’re not familiar with Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth, one of the principle characters is The Mathemagician, ruler of Digitopolis, who places special importance on numbers. The real-life mathemagicians appear to do the same thing. As a simple definition, a mathemagician is mathematician who also practices magic, or more specifically uses mathematics within the magic they practice. The term was first created by Royal Vale Heath in his 1933 book “Mathemagic.”
What Do They Do?
Mathemagicians rely on math principles for their magic tricks and puzzles. Martin Gardner who was one of the first people to popularize the idea of “mathemagic” in that he used math principles as the basis for “micromagic” (magic that takes place close up) and also created a variety of mathematical games for fun. (You can find out more about this life here). To be honest, I’m not actually sure how this type of magic works or what math is involved, but I guess we the public aren’t exactly supposed to find out. Gardner did, however, create a lot of mathematical games that you can find here.
A few other mathemagicians include Max Maven, Arthur T. Benjamin, and more.
So there you have it. A little short post about mathemagicians. Hopefully you enjoyed it. See everyone in a couple of weeks!
Want to know more? My website is now COMPLETE, and you can find it here! You can find me in Ariel Chart, The Cedarville Review, Nailpolish Stories, Bluepepper, 50 Word Stories, The Aurora Journal, Writing in a Woman’s Voice, The Drabble, Anti-heroin Chic, Art of Autism, Your Daily Poem, Sanctuary Magazine, Six Sentences, Paragraph Planet, A Story in 100 Words, Five Fleas, and Sledgehammer Lit. You can now also find my FREE microchap at Origami Poems Project, which I am also offering here.
And here’s Foster Your Writing official page on Facebook!
I am also a writer for Coffee House Writers! You can find my work under “Emma Foster” on their website.
