For mathematician and "mathemagician" Arthur Benjamin, the best way to illustrate the basic concept of algebra is with a little magic trick: "Think of a number between one and ten. Now, double it. Add ...

* His latest book is "The Magic of Math: Solving for x and figuring out why." He will bring his Great Courses DVDs, which focus on the joy of math to games and puzzles. * Benjamin is a competitive ...

Mathematician Persi Diaconis of Stanford University in California ran away from home in his teens to perform card tricks. As he publishes a book on the mathematics of magic, co-authored with juggler ...

The first time I encountered a column in Scientific American entitled “Mathematical Games,” I thought it was a contradiction in terms. Along with most English majors, I equated math with drudgery, not ...

ANDREW JEFFREY taught mathematics for 20 years before becoming a full-time "mathemagician" last year. He says his mission is to enthuse schoolchildren about maths and he uses magic tricks to help ...

He can square two, three and four digit numbers in his head; add and multiply numbers faster than individuals with calculators; and come up with the day of the week when people were born.

Where other people see just plain numbers, Aziz S. Inan sees beautiful connections — and in honor of the late moonwalker Neil Armstrong's birthday on Monday, the University of Portland engineering ...