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Martin Gardner’s wishes – clearly expressed in his will – called for his immediate cremation and for no funeral service, a request to which his son James has of course acceded. At TAM in Las Vegas we will be have a joyous celebration of his career and his accomplishments, but certainly not any somber or sad observance. Martin was a straightforward, no-nonsense guy, and we won’t be wailing and tearing our raiment – though that might bring him back just to scold us…
 
The international reaction to his passing has been very strong, very moving and very satisfying, and the reaction here on Swift has been most welcome. I spent much of my weekend giving interview to news organs all over the world. There's more to come, I’m sure.
 
Thank you for your expressions of condolence. Much appreciated.

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gardnerMartin Gardner has died.  I have dreaded to type those words, and Martin would not have wanted to know that I’m so devastated at what I knew – day to day – had to happen very soon.  I’m glad to report that his passing was painless and quick.  That man was one of my giants, a very long-time friend of some 50 years or so.  He was a delight, a very bright spot in my firmament, one to whom I could always turn to with a question or an idea, with any strange notion I could invent, and with any complaint or comment I could come up with.

I never had an angry word with Martin. Never. It was all laughs and smiles, all the best of everything.

Forgive me for writing this without any editing.  It’s just as it occurs to me.

I can’t quite picture my world without him, and just yesterday I printed up a new set of mailing labels for him, plus stationery, which didn’t get mailed. For the last few years I supplied him with that small favor, assuring him that he should notify me when he ran out, but he never did, because he thought it was too much trouble for me. Only when I received a letter from him last week that was hand-addressed, did I know that it was time for another shipment to Oklahoma.

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From the UK, Dr. Christopher French informs us of another loss to the skeptical community. Richard Gregory, CBE, FRS, passed away on May 17th at age 86. He was Professor of Neuropsychology in the Brain and Perception laboratory at Bristol University, where he remained active to the end after his formal retirement.  As well as his very well-known research on visual perception, he was the author of an important 1966 article in the journal Eye and Brain which went through multiple editions in many languages and must have been read by most psychology students and many others over the last 40+ years. He was also editor of the Oxford Companion to the Mind, and founder of the journal Perception. He was an advocate for scientific psychology and was enthusiastically committed to the public understanding of science, in particular to the development of the Exploratory, a hands-on science centre in Bristol.

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Paul Provenza, the celebrated comic and critic, talks about his book Satiristas, which focuses on rationalist issues through the lens of transgressive and subversive comedy. He explores the social criticism of the biggest names in comedy, and whether their intelligence should instead be focused on public service. He describes why his background in comedy allowed the celebrities featured in his book to be so open and transparent with him. He relates the impact the interviews had on him personally. He talks about the nihilism of some of the leading comedians and satirists in America today, and shares his personal views about the ultimate meaning of life in a godless, naturalistic universe.

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(Editor's note: Mea culpa, folks. It's entirely my fault that Harriet Hall's last two scheduled dispatches failed to go up on schedule. Please forgive me, and please do check out the following links. They lead to some of the best skeptical science writing on the web. - BKT)

Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.

  1. How to Create a Triangle
  2. Drinking Skeptically at TAM8
  3. The Amazing Moment: JREF, Skeptics Society and CSI Co-Sponsor TAM8
  4. Grassroots Skepticism At TAM 8