Gary Antonick (/ˈæntənɪk/ AN-tə-nik;[1] born February 11, 1963) is an American journalist and recreational mathematician who for many years wrote a puzzle-based column called "Numberplay" for the New York Times.[2]
Antonick has a BS in Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Harvard Business School.[3]
From December 2009 to October 2016 Antonick wrote the puzzle themed "Numberplay" column for The New York Times.[4] The puzzles generally involved math or logic problems.[2] They came from many sources, and many were descended from columns by the celebrated Scientific American columnist Martin Gardner.[5] He often wrote about Gardner and considered him to be the leading popularizer of recreational mathematics.[6][7] Conferences called Gathering 4 Gardner are held every two years to celebrate Gardner's legacy, and Antonick has twice spoken at these events.[8][9] He also supports the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival.[10]
Among the many classic problems of recreational mathematics featured in "Numberplay" are The Prisoner's Dilemma, The Two Child Problem, The Monty Hall Problem, The Monkey and the Coconuts, The Two-cube Calendar, and The Zebra Puzzle. Sometimes "Numberplay" was used to celebrate other mathematicians such as Paul Erdős,[11] or simply to report a breakthrough in mathematics or game theory.[12]
"Numberplay" columns led to five sequences originated by Antonick[13] being listed in the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS)[14]
On August 8, 1988, Antonick swam the English Channel, starting from Dover, England, and finishing in France 8 hours and 46 minutes later. [15]