martin gardner (october 21, 1914 – may 22, 2010) was an american writer. he had many interests, so he wrote about many topics. he wrote about mathematics, magic, literature, philosophy, skepticism, and religion. he wrote the "mathematical games" column in the "scientific american" magazine from 1956 to 1981. after that, he wrote the "notes of a fringe watcher" column in the "skeptical inquirer" magazine. he published over 70 books.