Recreational mathematics

Although it is not necessarily limited to being an endeavor for amateurs, many topics in this field require no knowledge of advanced mathematics.Recreational mathematics is inspired by deep ideas that are hidden in puzzles, games, and other forms of play.Cellular automata and fractals are also considered mathematical puzzles, even though the solver only interacts with them by providing a set of initial conditions.Magic tricks based on mathematical principles can produce self-working but surprising effects.Among the notable are the following: Prominent practitioners and advocates of recreational mathematics have included professional and amateur mathematicians:
MathematicsHistoryNumber theoryGeometryTopologyAlgebraCalculusAnalysisDifferential equationDiscrete mathematicsSet theoryProbabilityStatisticsDecision theoryPhysicsChemistryGeosciencesComputationBiologyLinguisticsEconomicsPhilosophyEducationrecreationamateursmathematical puzzlesMathematical Association of Americamathematical associationsRubik's Cubesmagic squaresfractalslogic puzzlesmathematical chess problemsaestheticsculturecoincidences about mathematicsmathematiciansMathematical gamesmultiplayer gamesMancalacombinatorial game theorypuzzleclassical ciphersCellular automataMagic tricksmathemagiciancombinatorialplaying cardsHamming codesjugglingorigamistring figuresCat's cradlesfractal-generating softwareCut-the-knotAlexander BogomolnyFutility ClosetBurkard PolsterVi HartMatt ParkerNumberphileBrady HaranEurekaUniversity of CambridgeMartin GardnerJohn ConwayRoger PenroseIan StewartTimothy GowersStephen HawkingPaul DiracJournal of Recreational MathematicsScientific AmericanMetamagical ThemasDouglas HofstadterA. K. DewdneyDennis Shashaamateur mathematiciansLewis CarrollAnglicandeaconAlice in WonderlandThrough the Looking-GlassSam LoydChess problempuzzlistHenry DudeneyCivil servantYakov Perelmanpopular scienceD. R. KaprekarKaprekarharshadKaprekar's constantPopular mathematicsscienceRaymond SmullyanTo Mock a MockingbirdJoseph MadachySolomon W. GolombpolyominoesJohn Horton ConwayConway's Game of LifeWinning WaysNoboyuki YoshigaharaLee Sallowsgeomagic squaresgolygonsself-enumerating sentencesList of recreational number theory topicsWayback MachineGuy, Richard K.W. W. Rouse BallH.S.M. CoxeterHenry E. DudeneyRaymond M. SmullyanMathWorldWolfram ResearchTimelineFutureGlossaryFoundationsCategory theoryInformation theoryMathematical logicPhilosophy of mathematicsType theoryAbstractCommutativeElementaryGroup theoryLinearMultilinearUniversalHomologicalReal analysisComplex analysisHypercomplex analysisDifferential equationsFunctional analysisHarmonic analysisMeasure theoryDiscreteCombinatoricsGraph theoryOrder theoryAlgebraicAnalyticArithmeticDifferentialEuclideanFiniteAlgebraic number theoryAnalytic number theoryDiophantine geometryGeneralGeometricHomotopy theoryAppliedEngineering mathematicsMathematical biologyMathematical chemistryMathematical economicsMathematical financeMathematical physicsMathematical psychologyMathematical sociologyMathematical statisticsSystems scienceControl theoryGame theoryOperations researchComputationalComputer scienceTheory of computationComputational complexity theoryNumerical analysisOptimizationComputer algebraRelated topicsInformal mathematicsFilms about mathematiciansMathematics and artMathematics education