In pancake sorting, which American geometer first discussed the original problem?

In pancake sorting, American geometer Jacob E. Goodman first discussed the original problem.

The puzzle asks how to sort a disordered stack by inserting a spatula at a chosen point and flipping the entire prefix above it. The operation reverses the order of that top section, making the problem a mathematical study of prefix reversals.

Goodman introduced the problem in 1975 under the pseudonym “Harry Dweighter,” a pun on “harried waiter.” The name is often overlooked, which can lead players to choose Martin Gardner, Donald Knuth, or Ronald Graham—well-known figures in recreational mathematics and algorithms who were associated with related mathematical topics but did not first pose this pancake problem.

The problem later became prominent through work by Bill Gates and Christos Papadimitriou. Their 1979 paper studied bounds for sorting by prefix reversal. A related “burnt pancake” version adds orientation: every pancake has a burnt side that must finish facing downward.