Gathering 4 Gardner
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| Abbreviation | G4G |
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| Founder | Thomas M. Rodgers |
| Type | 501(c)(3) |
| Focus | recreational mathematics, magic & illusion, puzzles, philosophy, rationality |
| Location | |
| Nancy Blachman, Chair Erik Demaine, President Colm Mulcahy, Vice President Rob Jones, Treasurer Board members: Jim Gardner Mark Setteducati Ex-board members: Tom Rodgers Elwyn Berlekamp Bruce Oberg Thane Plambeck Scott Hudson de Tarnowsky Mark Mitton |
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| Website | www.gathering4gardner.org |
Gathering 4 Gardner (G4G) is an educational foundation and non-profit corporation (Gathering 4 Gardner, Inc.) devoted to preserving the legacy and spirit of prolific writer Martin Gardner. G4G organizes conferences where people who have been inspired by or have a strong personal connection to Martin Gardner can meet and celebrate his influence. These events explore ideas and developments in recreational mathematics, magic, illusion, puzzles, philosophy, and rationality, and foster creative work in all of these areas by enthusiasts of all ages. G4G also facilitates a related series of events called Celebration of Mind (CoM).
Martin Gardner's prolific output as a columnist and writer—he authored over 100 books between 1951 and 2010—put him in contact with a large number of people on a wide range of subjects from magic, mathematics, puzzles, physics, philosophy, logic and rationality, to G. K. Chesterton, Alice in Wonderland, and the Wizard of Oz. As a result, he had a large following of amateurs and professionals eager to pay tribute to him, but many of them had only infrequent contact with each other. Moreover, Gardner was famously shy, and generally declined to appear at any events honoring him.
In the early 1990s, Atlanta-based entrepreneur and puzzle collector Thomas M. Rodgers (1943–2012), a friend of Martin Gardner’s, conceived a plan to create a gathering of people who shared Gardner's interests, especially puzzles, magic, and mathematics. Rodgers invited the world's foremost puzzle composers and collectors, and enlisted magician Mark Setteducati and mathematician Elwyn Berlekamp to recruit leading magicians and recreational mathematicians, respectively. Gardner agreed to attend. Thus was born the first Gathering (G4G1), held in Atlanta, GA, in January 1993.
In 2007 board members Rodgers, Berlekamp, Setteducati, Thane Plambeck, and Scott Hudson de Tarnowsky decided that G4G should broaden its reach and expand the scope of its educational programs. To that end they formed the 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation Gathering 4 Gardner, Inc.
The logo of Gathering for Gardner, as well as the logo for the first CoM event, employs ambigrams designed by long-time Gardner associate Scott Kim.
Continuing Martin Gardner's pursuit of a playful and fun approach to learning, G4Gn events explore ideas in fields of interest to Gardner. The term G4G is also used to denote the community of people who participate in these events. With the "n" denoting the number in the series, G4Gn is an invitation-only bi-annual conference that started with G4G1 in January 1993. A second gathering (G4G2) was held in Atlanta in 1996, and from then on the events have been held bi-annually, in the springs of even-numbered years, the most recent being G4G12 in March–April 2016. G4G13 will take place from the evening of Wednesday, April 11 to Sunday April 15, 2018. To date, all G4Gn conferences have been held in Atlanta, GA. Gardner (and his wife), who disliked travel in addition to wanting to avoid the limelight, attended only the first two G4Gs.
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