Recreational mathematics includes many mathematical games, and can be extended to cover such areas as logic and other puzzles of deductive reasoning. Some of the most interesting problems in this field do not require a knowledge of advanced mathematics. Mathematical games include many topics which are a part of recreational mathematics, but can also cover topics such as the mathematics of games, and playing games with mathematics. ... Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος logos (the word), is the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration. ... Deductive reasoning is the process of reaching a conclusion that is guaranteed to follow, if the evidence provided is true and the reasoning used to reach the conclusion is correct. ...

The subject can include other topics such as the aesthetics of mathematics, and peculiar or amusing stories and coincidences about mathematics and mathematicians. Its greatest contribution is its ability to pique curiosity and inspire the further study of mathematics. The Parthenons facade showing an interpretation of golden rectangles in its proportions. ...

Recreational mathematics includes such topics as magic squares and the exploration of fractals aided by computer graphics. In mathematics, magic squares consist of a number of integers arranged in the form of a square in such a way that the sum of the numbers in every row, column and diagonal are the same. ... A fractal is a geometric object which can be divided into parts, each of which is similar to the original object. ... Computer graphics is a sub-field of computer science and is concerned with digitally synthesizing and manipulating visual content. ...

The Journal of Recreational Mathematics is the biggest publication on this topic. The Journal of Recreational Mathematics is a peer reviewed journal dedicated to recreational mathematics. ...

The foremost advocates of recreational mathematics have included:

• John Horton Conway
• H. S. M. Coxeter
• Henry Dudeney
• Martin Gardner, author of Mathematical Games, a long running column in Scientific American
• Piet Hein
• Douglas Hofstadter
• Maurice Kraitchik - possibly one of the earliest
• Sam Loyd
• Clifford A. Pickover, author of numerous books on recreational mathematics
• Ed Pegg, Jr.
• Walter William Rouse Ball
• David Singmaster
• Raymond Smullyan
• Ian Stewart
• Yakov Perelman
• Hugo Steinhaus

John Horton Conway (born December 26, 1937, Liverpool, England) is a prolific mathematician active in the theory of finite groups, knot theory, number theory, combinatorial game theory and coding theory. ... Harold Scott MacDonald Donald Coxeter, CC , Ph. ... Henry Ernest Dudeney (10 April 1857 – 24 April 1930) was an English author and mathematician who specialised in logic puzzles and mathematical games. ... Martin Gardner (b. ... Scientific American is a popular-science magazine, published (first weekly and later monthly) since August 28, 1845, making it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ... Piet Hein (December 16, 1905 - April 18, 1996) was a scientist, mathematician, inventor, author, and poet, often writing under the Old Norse pseudonym Kumbel meaning tombstone. His short poems, gruks (or grooks), first started to appear in the daily newspaper Politiken shortly after the Nazi Occupation in April 1940 under... Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is an American academic. ... Maurice Kraitchik (1882-1957) was a Belgian mathematician and populariser born in Russia. ... Samuel Loyd (January 31, 1841 - April 10, 1911) was an American puzzle author and recreational mathematician. ... Clifford A. Pickover is an author, editor, and columnist in the fields of science, mathematics, and science fiction. ... Ed Pegg, Jr. ... Walter William Rouse Ball (1850 August 14–1925 April 4) was a Brtish mathematician, and a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge from 1878 to 1905. ... David Singmaster is a professor of Mathematics at Londons South Bank University. ... Raymond Merrill Smullyan (born 1919) is a mathematician, logician, philosopher, and magician. ... Ian Stewart, FRS (b. ... Yakov Perelman is a Russian author, who is credited with writing science books for children. ... Hugo Dyonizy Steinhaus (January 14, 1887 - February 25, 1972) was a Polish mathematician, educator, and humanist. ...

References

• mathpuzzle.com by Ed Pegg, Jr.
• Puzzles of the Month by Gianni A. Sarcone
• The Unreasonable Utility of Recreational Mathematics by David Singmaster
• Nick's Mathematical Puzzles
• Knot a Braid of Links

Ed Pegg, Jr. ... Gianni A. Sarcone and Marie-Jo Waeber are writers and authors of columns and articles for newspapers and magazines featuring visual puzzles and math brainteasers. ...

See also

• Mathematical game
• Four fours

Mathematical games include many topics which are a part of recreational mathematics, but can also cover topics such as the mathematics of games, and playing games with mathematics. ... Four fours is a mathematical game. ...

Bibliography

• Ball, W.W. Rouse; H.S.M. Coxeter (1987). Mathematical Recreations and Essays, Thirteenth Edition, Dover. ISBN 0-486-25357-0. 
• Dudeney, Henry E. (1967). 536 Puzzles and Curious Problems. Charles Scribner's sons. ISBN 0-684-71755-7. 
• Loyd, Sam (1959. 2 Vols.). in Martin Gardner: The Mathematical Puzzles of Sam Loyd. Dover. OCLC 5720955. 
• Smullyan, Raymond M. (1991). The Lady or the Tiger? And Other Logic Puzzles. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-286136-0.