The Combinatorial Gardner

It has been said that the Mathematical Games column written by Martin Gardner for Scientific American turned a generation of children into mathematicians and mathematicians into children. In this course we will read selections from three decades of this column, focusing on those that deal with combinatorics, the “science of counting,” and strive to solve the problems and puzzles given. An example problem that illustrates the science of counting is: what is the maximum number of pieces of pancake (or donut or cheesecake) one can obtain via n linear (or planar) cuts? (MATH 0116 or higher; Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1314).