Mathemagician

A mathemagician is a mathematician who is also a magician.

The name "mathemagician" was probably first applied to Martin Gardner, but has since been used to describe many mathematician/magicians, including Arthur T. Benjamin,[1] Persi Diaconis,[2] and Colm Mulcahy.[3] Diaconis has suggested that the reason so many mathematicians are magicians is that "inventing a magic trick and inventing a theorem are very similar activities."[4]

Mathemagician is a neologism, specifically a portmanteau, that combines mathematician and magician to suggest that mathematics is a kind of magic. A great number of self-working mentalism tricks rely on mathematical principles. Max Maven often utilizes this type of magic in his performance.

The Mathemagician is name of a character in the 1961 children's book The Phantom Tollbooth. He is the ruler Digitopolis, the kingdom of mathematics.

Notable mathemagicians

References
  1. Albers, Donald J. "Art Benjamin - Mathemagician." Math Horizons, November 1998, 14-18.
  2. Professor of Magic Mathematics by Don Albers and Persi Diaconis, Math Horizons Vo. 2, No 3 (February 1995), pp. 11-15
  3. Mathematics Awareness Month 2014: Mathematics, Magic, and Mystery Committee Members
  4. Diaconis, Persi. Quoted in: Albers, Donald J. "Professor of Magic Mathematics." Math Horizons, February 1995, 11-15.
  5. "The Magic of Math". www.news.gatech.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  6. "MatheMagician". mathemagician.tudelft.nl. Retrieved 2018-06-19.

Further reading
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