Review of
Ben
Franklin and the Magic Squares,
by Frank Murphy, ISBN 0439328934
Three out
of five stars
Interesting,
but based on muddled history
As a longtime enthusiast of recreational
mathematics, I was pleased to see this book your young people that describes
Benjamin Franklin’s interest in magic squares. The story moves along very well,
accurately describes the wide range of Franklin’s interests and achievements
and is well written.
However, there is a fundamental flaw. Starting
on page 32 there is the story of a bored Ben Franklin doodling with numbers and
eventually inventing a 3 x 3 magic square using the numbers 1 through 9. This
is simply not historically accurate.
This magic square is known in China as the
Luoshu and in Chinese legends dates back to before the CE. Other cultures such
as Indian, the Babylonians, the Japanese, Greeks and European were also well
aware of this simple numerological device. It is impossible to believe that someone
of Franklin’s intellectual curiosity would have been unaware of this most basic
of magic squares.
For the implication that a bored Franklin
invented this magic square, I give an otherwise quality book an average
ranking.
