
The Mathematical Nomad, Paul Erdős - agiri
https://medium.com/cantors-paradise/the-mathematical-nomad-paul-erd%C5%91s-3163b70a2863
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marttt
There is an IMO outstandingly illustrated children's book about Erdős, "The
Boy Who Loved Math" by Deborah Heiligman and LeUyen Pham [1]. Really witty,
but also moving. I think it depicts really well why it makes sense to accept
"strange people".

[1]: [https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Loved-Math-
Improbable/dp/1596...](https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Loved-Math-
Improbable/dp/1596433078) (I suggest Looking Inside the book as well!)

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throw0101a
Also, for adults:

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Loved_Only_Numbers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Loved_Only_Numbers)

Anecdote from the book: he called cats "fascists". Asked why, he replied:
"Have you ever considered things from the mouse's perspective?".

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ex3xu
I love the tomato juice story from The Man Who Loved Only Numbers:

> Graham was not the only one who had to put up with Erdös's kitchen antics.
> "Once I spent a few days with Paul," said Janos Path, a fellow Hungarian
> emigre. "When I entered the kitchen in the evening, I was met with a
> horrible sight. The floor was covered by pools of blood-like red liquid. The
> trail led to the refrigerator. I opened the door, and to my great surprise
> saw a carton of tomato juice on its side with a gaping hole. Paul must have
> felt thirsty and, after some reflection, decided to get the juice out of the
> carton by stabbing it with a big knife."

[http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/first/h/hoffman-
man.html](http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/first/h/hoffman-man.html)

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dbmueller
Is that János Pach
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A1nos_Pach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A1nos_Pach)
?

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ex3xu
Yes you are correct, and Pach is noted as one of the most frequent
collaborators with Paul Erdos. My apologies, I no longer have the option to
edit my post to correct the spelling.

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vecplane
Medium is now limiting the number of posts one can read before signing up with
a Google or Facebook account.

Is there a reasonable workaround for this that doesn't require signing in?

EDIT: I suppose private browsing works well.

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TylerE
Boycott Medium and maybe eventually the pain will stop?

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FabHK
There is a wonderful book called _Proofs from THE BOOK_ , highly recommended
if you like maths.

Can't say it better than Wikipedia:

> Proofs from THE BOOK is a book of mathematical proofs by Martin Aigner and
> Günter M. Ziegler. The book is dedicated to the mathematician Paul Erdős,
> who often referred to "The Book" in which God keeps the most elegant proof
> of each mathematical theorem. During a lecture in 1985, Erdős said, "You
> don't have to believe in God, but you should believe in The Book."

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proofs_from_THE_BOOK](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proofs_from_THE_BOOK)

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amelius
Most people know him from:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s_number](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s_number)

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inflatableDodo
Given his temperament and amphetamine habit, I have long thought of him as
mathematics' wierd convoluted relation of Hunter S. Thompson.

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wso
"A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems"

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skarjakin
“When I contemplated leaving mathematics to go to the Technical University and
become an engineer, Erdős said: “I’ll hide, and when you enter the gate of the
Technical University, I will shoot you”

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FabHK
> Erdős himself has Erdős number 1. People who co-authored a paper with Erdős
> have Erdős number 2. People who co-authored a paper with someone of Erdős
> number 2 have Erdős number 3 and so on.

No, the Erdős number is the "distance" to Erdős, so he himself has Erdős
number 0, his collaborators have 1, etc.

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bitlax
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s%E2%80%93Bacon_numbe...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s%E2%80%93Bacon_number)

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bitlax
In the early 90s, George Csicsery made a film about Erdős called "N is a
Number" which is worth watching. You can find information on that video, along
with a few lectures by Erdős and a film about his 100th birthday at
zalafilms.com.

I enjoy watching Csicsery's works. For example, his film "Hard Problems" shows
a respect for the IMO competition and its participants that I feel the similar
BBC documentary "Beautiful Young Minds" does not.

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melling
Reached my Medium limit...

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beecat
Peak Medium.

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jimhefferon
Unable-to-peek Medium

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psvidler
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers - and meth

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ColanR
Typo in the last section.

> He was attending a conference when he had a heard attack

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gkamsky
Interesting

