Mathematical Games Knowledge Cards

Description

Scientific American: Mathematical Games Knowledge Cards

Some are fun; some are diabolically clever—all 48 of the games in this deck require a love of a challenge and creative thinking. The fronts of the cards will test your mathematical ability, draw on all your reasoning skills, and offer you the fun of solving the seemingly unsolvable. The backs of the cards present the answers, from simple to complex.

In 1956 Martin Gardner (1914–2010) created the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American. Before joining the magazine, he was a reporter for the Tulsa Tribune, a staff writer with the University of Chicago Press Relations Department, and, after World War II, a freelance writer.

The author of numerous mathematical books, Gardner also wrote books about myriad topics; among the latter works are Urantia: The Great Cult Mystery; Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing; and Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science.

Suggestions for Use

Quiz Nights

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and the pandemic has forced change onto all of us. One of the benefits is that many people have discovered how to connect to others online using video calls (FaceTime or Zoom for example). To keep people feeling buoyant, a wonderful lady in the Worcestershire village of White Ladies Aston has maintained a community spirit during the lockdowns by holding regular events via video calls. One of the popular online events is a village quiz. Using a set of cards such as the Knowledge Cards, they hold a fun quiz (nothing too serious!). The organiser reads out a question (or if it’s a picture, holds it up to the camera) and everyone writes down their answer. At the end, they go through the answers together.

Learn Something New

Knowledge Cards are an ideal way to keep your mind flexible by learning something new every day. Each day, pull out a card and learn the fact/facts (or in this case, solve the mathematical puzzle).

Improve Your Memory

If you like the idea above of learning something new, why not take it one step further and improve your memory too? Work out the solution to the maths puzzle on the card, then the next day solve a new one but also recall the one from the previous day. As you get good at that, see if you can remember the solutions to three days of puzzles, or four or even more. Keep challenging yourself. Working on your memory will improve your bridge game when you get back to it too!