Clifford A. Pickover

Clifford Alan Pickover
Clifford Alan Pickover
Born	August 15, 1957 (age 69); United States
Occupation(s)	Writer, editor, columnist, inventor
Known for	Over 700 U.S. patents; editor-in-chief of IBM Journal of Research and Development; author of over 50 books

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Clifford A. Pickover, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 2025

Clifford Alan Pickover (born August 15, 1957) is a prominent American writer, editor, and columnist whose expertise spans science, mathematics, science fiction, innovation, and creativity. He dedicated a significant portion of his career to the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, New York, where he held the position of editor-in-chief for the IBM Journal of Research and Development. Pickover is credited with over 700 U.S. patents, is recognized as a Fellow by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and has authored upwards of 50 books that have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Life, education and career

Pickover completed his undergraduate studies at Franklin and Marshall College, graduating at the top of his class in just three years. He obtained his PhD in 1982 from the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University, concentrating on protein structure through X-ray scattering techniques.

As a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, an honor awarded for enhancing public comprehension of science and fostering critical thinking, Pickover is among esteemed company such as Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov. He holds nearly 700 U.S. patents to his name, and his book The Math Book was honored with the 2011 Neumann Prize.

Beginning his tenure at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center in 1982, Pickover initially contributed to the speech synthesis division before moving on to work on design-automation systems. His scholarly output includes numerous technical articles covering areas like scientific visualization, computer-generated art, and recreational mathematics.

Presently, he is an associate editor for Computers and Graphics and sits on the editorial boards of both Odyssey and Leonardo. He authors the Brain-Strain column for Odyssey magazine and formerly wrote the Brain-Boggler column for Discover magazine.

Throughout his career, Pickover has been honored with over 100 IBM invention achievement awards, along with three research division accolades and four awards from external organizations.

Work

Pickover’s work emphasizes enhancing creativity by integrating elements from art, science, mathematics, and various other disciplines. In titles such as The Math Book and The Physics Book, he explores how mathematical and physical concepts evoke awe regarding the cosmos and human life. Along with holding more than 700 patents, he has produced puzzle calendars and contributed to magazines aimed at both young readers and adults. His science-fiction series, including Neoreality and Heaven Virus, delve into themes surrounding reality and spirituality.

He has authored hundreds of technical papers across multiple fields that include creative visualizations of fossilized seashells, genetic code sequences, heartbeats, speech sounds, virtual cave environments, lava lamps, and fractal geometry. His interests also extend to skepticism (topics like ESP and Nostradamus), psychology (such as temporal lobe epilepsy and genius), as well as speculative technology subjects including early computing ideas and supercomputing effects. His visualization projects have depicted protein breathing motions, patterns in speech sounds, cartoon-face data models, and biomorphs.

Additionally, Pickover has extensively documented his experiences with the psychoactive substance DMT, recounting encounters with entities like Machine Elves and phenomena described as "Insects From A Parallel Universe."

On November 4, 2006, he initiated Wikidumper.org, a blog dedicated to highlighting articles proposed for removal from the English Wikipedia.

Pickover stalks

Pickover stalks refer to intricate features observed within the Mandelbrot set, a key subject in fractal geometry. During the 1980s, Pickover motivated mathematicians and digital artists to investigate the orbit paths of the Mandelbrot set, particularly examining how closely orbits of interior points approach the x and y axes on the complex plane. The intensity of color correlates with proximity, where red signifies the nearest approach. These details are accentuated by applying the logarithm of the distance. This research extended his prior studies involving Julia sets and "Pickover biomorphs," which frequently bore resemblance to microbial forms.

Frontiers of Scientific Visualization

In his 1994 work Frontiers of Scientific Visualization, Pickover delved into "the art and science of revealing nature’s hidden mechanisms." The publication addresses a range of subjects including fluid dynamics, fractals, botanical growth patterns, genetic sequencing, galactic structures, virtual reality, and sources of artistic inspiration. It highlights the role of computers as essential tools for simulation, creative expression, and scientific discovery.

Visualizing Biological Information

The 1995 book Visualizing Biological Information by Pickover focuses on the explosion of biological data. He posits that visual representations offer more rapid comprehension compared to raw numerical data alone. The text emphasizes innovative graphic and musical methods for representing sequences such as DNA and amino acids, aiming to expose concealed patterns and significance.

Vampire numbers and other mathematical highlights

A vampire number is defined as a composite number with an even digit count that can be factored into two integers ("fangs"), each containing half the digits, whose combined digits recreate the original number. For instance, 1260 factors into 21 × 60. Pickover introduced vampire numbers in a 1994 article and later expanded on them in chapter 30 of his book Keys to Infinity.

In addition to vampire numbers, Pickover coined several mathematical terms including Leviathan number, factorion, Carotid–Kundalini function, fractal batrachion, Juggler sequence, and Legion's number. He utilized ideas such as Truchet tiles and introduced Noise spheres—a concept he developed—to analyze noisy datasets through spherical coordinate mapping.

In 1990, Pickover investigated questions like "Is There a Double Smoothly Undulating Integer?" and calculated "All Known Replicating Fibonacci Digits Less than One Billion." Collaborating with John R. Hendricks, he determined the smallest perfect (nasik) magic tesseract. Several mathematical constructs bear his name: the "Pickover sequence," which involves constants e and pi; the "Cliff random number generator"; and the Pickover attractor (also referred to as the Clifford Attractor).

Culture, religion, belief

Beginning around 2001, Pickover's focus broadened beyond mathematics and science. His book Dreaming the Future investigates ancient methods of divination, while The Paradox of God explores religious themes. A significant departure is evident in Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes, and the Quest for Transcendence, which combines memoir with a surreal cultural viewpoint. This thematic exploration continued in A Beginner's Guide to Immortality: Extraordinary People, Alien Brains, and Quantum Resurrection.

Evolution of Science and Mathematics

Starting in 2008, Pickover concentrated on exploring the historical development of science and mathematics through works such as Archimedes to Hawking and the comprehensive trilogy consisting of The Math Book, The Physics Book, and The Medical Book. These publications highlight significant achievements and innovations across various scientific fields.

WikiDumper.org

Founded by Pickover in 2006, Wikidumper.org serves as a repository for articles removed from the English Wikipedia. While it allows contributions from users, the platform lacks defined standards for content inclusion and frequently contains entries without proper references. Consequently, it has been subject to scrutiny regarding its trustworthiness compared to Wikipedia.

Publications

Pickover has produced more than forty books spanning topics such as computers and creativity, art, mathematics, black hole phenomena, human cognition, time travel, extraterrestrial existence, Albert Einstein, religion, dimethyltryptamine entities, parallel universes, genius, and science fiction. His literature has been translated into numerous languages including French, Greek, Italian, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Polish, Spanish, and Turkish.

Books

1990. Computers, Pattern, Chaos, and Beauty. St. Martin's Press.
1991. Computers and the Imagination. St. Martin's Press.
1992. Mazes for the Mind. St. Martin's Press.
1994. Chaos in Wonderland. St. Martin's Press.
1995. Keys to Infinity. Wiley.
1996. Black Holes: A Traveler's Guide. Wiley.
1997. The Alien IQ Test. Basic Books.
1997. The Loom of God. Plenum.
1998. Spider Legs. Co-authored with Piers Anthony, TOR.
1998. The Science of Aliens. Basic Books.
1998. Time: A Traveler's Guide. Oxford University Press.
1999. Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives of Eccentric Scientists and Madmen, Harper Perennial/Quill.
1999. Surfing Through Hyperspace. Oxford University Press.
2000. Cryptorunes: Codes and Secret Writing. Pomegranate.
2000. The Girl Who Gave Birth to Rabbits. Prometheus.
2000. Wonders of Numbers. Oxford University Press.
2001. Dreaming the Future. Prometheus.
2001. The Stars of Heaven. Oxford University Press.
2002. The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars. Princeton University Press.
2002. The Mathematics of Oz. Cambridge University Press.
2002. The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience. St. Martin's Press.
2003. Calculus and Pizza. John Wiley & Sons.
2005. Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves. Smart Publications.
2005. A Passion for Mathematics, John Wiley & Sons.
2006. The Mobius Strip, Thunder's Mouth Press.
2007. A Beginner's Guide to Immortality. Thunder's Mouth Press.
2007. The Heaven Virus. Lulu.
2008. Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them. Oxford University Press.
2009. Jews in Hyperspace. Kindle Edition.
2009. The Loom of God. Sterling Publishing.
2009. The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics. Sterling Publishing.
2011. The Physics Book: From the Big Bang to Quantum Resurrection. Sterling Publishing.
2012. The Medical Book: From Witch Doctors to Robot Surgeons. Sterling Publishing.
2012. Brain Strain: A Mental Muscle Workout That's Fun!. Cricket Media.
2013. The Book of Black: Black Holes, Black Death, Black Forest Cake and Other Dark Sides of Life, Calla Editions.
2014. The Mathematics Devotional: Celebrating the Wisdom and Beauty of Mathematics. Sterling Publishing.
2015. The Physics Devotional: Celebrating the Wisdom and Beauty of Physics. Sterling Publishing.
2015. Death and the Afterlife: A Chronological Journey, from Cremation to Quantum Resurrection. Sterling Publishing.
2018. The Science Book: From Darwin to Dark Energy. Sterling Publishing.
2019. Artificial Intelligence: An Illustrated History, From Medieval Robots to Neural Networks. Sterling Publishing.
Annual releases include calendars and cards titled Mind-Bending Puzzles, published by Pomegranate.

Neoreality science fiction series

2002. Liquid Earth. Published by The Lighthouse Press, Inc.
2002. The Lobotomy Club. Released through The Lighthouse Press, Inc.
2002. Sushi Never Sleeps. Issued by The Lighthouse Press, Inc.
2002. Egg Drop Soup. Distributed by The Lighthouse Press, Inc.

Edited collections

1992. Spiral Symmetry. World Scientific.
1993. Visions of the Future. St. Martin's Press.
1994. Frontiers of Scientific Visualization. Wiley.
1995. Future Health: Computers & Medicine in the 21st Century. St. Martin's Press.
1995. The Pattern Book: Fractals, Art, and Nature. World Scientific.
1995. Visualizing Biological Information. World Scientific.
1996. Fractal Horizons. St. Martin's Press.
1998. Chaos and Fractals. Elsevier.

External links

Official personal website
Reality Carnival, a blog showcasing selected interesting links
Radio Interview on This Week in Science, July 11, 2006
WikiDumper.org, a blog by Pickover focusing on Wikipedia article removals