- Hardcover: 164 pages
- Publisher: W.H.Freeman & Co Ltd (July 1982)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0716714140
- ISBN-13: 978-0716714149
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 18 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,809,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you love that moment of glazed wonder that consumes your brain when confronted with a paradox in logic, then this is the book for you. "Aha! Gotcha" offers many great dilemmas and, surprisingly, many great solutions.
For a mind-blowing good time, call Martin Gardner!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What a great introduction to thinking skills-- presented in a light-hearted fashion that is non-intimidating and fun. Listen, there are only 2 people to consider when it comes to math, science and puzzles--Martin Gardner and Terry Stickels. You can forget the rest. They have all the bases covered.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
15 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Gardner at his best, explaining the unexplainable
8 Dec 2005
Format:Paperback
This is an ageless book for the people who love to think and do it well. A paradox is a situation where a supposedly valid chain of reasoning is performed and yet you end up with a conclusion that cannot be true. In many cases, the paradox is due to imprecise definitions of words or statements that are so broad in scope that they refer to themselves. For example, when a Cretan says, "All Cretans are liars." The scope of the sentence is so broad that it includes the sentence itself. Therefore, if the statement is true, the person saying it must be lying and if the statement is false, then the Cretan is telling the truth, which means that according to the statement he must be lying.
Many of the paradoxes are resolved by applying a simple analysis. Some of them are easily understood if presented in the appropriate context and no one does this better than Martin Gardner. He is truly unique in his ability to take a difficult mathematical concept and make it understandable. During his decades as the author of a regular mathematical column in Scientific American, he has done more to advance the progress of mathematics and science than anyone else in history. By turning so many young people on to mathematics, he is one of the intellectual grandfathers of hundreds of thousands of people.
This book is a delight and contains many problems that can be used in courses in mathematics, reasoning and philosophy. I strongly recommend it.
Many of the paradoxes are resolved by applying a simple analysis. Some of them are easily understood if presented in the appropriate context and no one does this better than Martin Gardner. He is truly unique in his ability to take a difficult mathematical concept and make it understandable. During his decades as the author of a regular mathematical column in Scientific American, he has done more to advance the progress of mathematics and science than anyone else in history. By turning so many young people on to mathematics, he is one of the intellectual grandfathers of hundreds of thousands of people.
This book is a delight and contains many problems that can be used in courses in mathematics, reasoning and philosophy. I strongly recommend it.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Superb
15 Dec 1999
Format:Paperback
Those who have read any of Martin Gardner's famous books know that he is the master at explaining difficult concepts in witty and precise language. This book is no exception! It's a great book to buy for children AND adults alike.
I encourage readers of this to purchase "Aha, Insight!" by the same author, and his "The (first,second,etc...) scientific american book of mathematical puzzles and diversions"
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Contradiction or not?
10 Jun 2001
Format:Paperback
Aha! Gotcha is filled with very different types of puzzles than aha! Insight, which has many problems to solve. This book just presents many fun paradoxes that make you use your head, and while some of them are problems you have to take some time to solve, most are short paradoxical situations that you can think about for a short while and then go on the next page. It is easy to read, and Gardner again shows his skill in explaining interesting phenomena in a clear and interesting way. All the problems are good exercises on logical thinking and introduces various concepts of mathematics and statistics without seeming like you're studying. It is insightful enough for adults, but I think children would be able to understand these concepts too if they are interested.
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