Raymond Smullyan on Self Reference

Profile Editor 1:

Melvin Fitting began his scientific career in 1968 and became Professor Emeritus in 2013, working for the entire time at the City University of New York. His work as a logician has included set theory, automated theorem proving, computer language semantics, and philosophical logic. Some of his books in these areas are well known, while others are not as well known as he would like. Following the example of his thesis advisor, Raymond Smullyan, retirement has not meant the end of a research career.

Profile Editor 2:



Brian Rayman works for New York City’s Department of Education. He holds Mathematics Education and Public Policy degrees from New York University and Columbia University, respectively. Since his days as an undergraduate, Brian has deeply embraced Professor Smullyan’s works in recreational mathematics and Eastern philosophy. As a high school mathematics teacher, heintegrated Raymond’s work into his curriculum and invited him to speak to his students. Raymond kindly accepted and after two hours, students were no longer sure where mathematics ended and magic began, and vice versa. Today, he considers his most significant accomplishment as being counted among Raymond’s friends and performing magic tricks that nearly made Raymond’s eyes pop out. Brian lives in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, with his wife and two sons.