
“Infinitely Rich” Mathematician Richard Guy Turns 100 - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/blog/an-infinitely-rich-mathematician-turns-100
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ColinWright
This is a lovely article about the man I know. I've had dinner with Richard
several times, meeting him sporadically, and he always seems interested and
interesting. A charming man. One of my most treasured possessions is an early
copy of "Winning Ways" signed by all three authors.

I wish Richard a very happy birthday, and many more to come.

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JadeNB
Can anyone lend some background to the story that opens the article and gives
it its title?

> [Erdős] said, “Guy, veel you have a coffee?” It cost a dollar, a small
> fortune to a professor of mathematics at the hinterland University of
> Calgary who was not much of a coffee drinker …. When they sat with their
> coffee, [Erdős] said, “Guy, you are eenfeeneeteley reech; lend me 100
> dollars.”

> “I was amazed,” recounted Guy. “Not so much at the request but rather at my
> ability to satisfy it. Once again, Erdős knew me better than I know myself.
> Ever since then, I’ve realized that I’m infinitely rich: Not just in the
> material sense that I have everything I need, but infinitely rich in spirit
> in having mathematics and having known Erdős.”

I don't mean to interpret this too literally, but I don't understand. How can
it be that someone has to check his budget for a dollar cup of coffee, but is
infinitely rich, in (as he himself says) not just, but at least, the literal
sense of having $100 to spare?

(I know that the _point_ is the richness of knowing Erdős, a privilege I
missed—my Erdős number is and will probably remain 3—but the non-metaphorical
part of the story doesn't make any sense to me. Also, it avoids the question
of whether Guy made the loan!)

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asimeqi
If you take 100 from Infinity it still remains Infinity. So I take the Erdős
comment as meaning if you give me $100 your financial situation will not
change. Which probably was true.

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eagletusk
"so Erdős—who sustained himself with espresso and other stimulants"

Paul Hoffman’s biography has Erdős on “10 to 20 milligrams of Benzedrine or
Ritalin”

so yea the coffee, it was the coffee.

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hueving
He was quoted as saying going without amphetamines for a month set back
mathematics a month.

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aisofteng
Which he did to win a bet on whether he could go without stimulants for a
month.

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ch4s3
I read that he complained bitterly the whole time and proclaimed that the bet
had cost Mathematics immeasurably. I wonder how true that is.

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evincarofautumn
The complaining part is probably true—amphetamine withdrawal will make you
extremely irritable, and moreover he probably felt like he was being held back
from his full potential.

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ch4s3
Probably. He seems like an endlessly fascinating character to me. He's almost
tragic in a sense, but I also can't help but thinking that he probably felt
more fulfilled than most people.

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golemotron
Culturally we're doing everything we can to destroy the "Great Man" narrative.
When I read stories like this I think it's a mistake. Richard Guy had his life
changed by someone he looked up to and wanted to emulate.

We need to remember that whenever we knock people down and say they their
achievements are not due to them. Fame has positive social effects.

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whack
_" A lifelong mountain climber and environmentalist, he spent his centenary
day hiking at (not up) Mount Assiniboine"_

I didn't even think that was possible. The guy's an inspiration.

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frikk
I don't think I get it. What is the difference between 'at' and 'up' in this
context?

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pd1
Maybe going on trails on/around the mountain as opposed to heading to the top?

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teddyh
For an article appearing to praise an old man for being active in his old age,
there is a distinct lack of _pictures_ of the man himself while _being_ old,
only a picture of him when he was _young_.

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theparanoid
There's a touching write up of him and his wife -
[http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/wp-
content/uploads/2015/07/...](http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/wp-
content/uploads/2015/07/SS14-Guy.pdf)

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codyb
What a pleasurable read. It's no shocker that a man so well versed in such a
variety of interests (teaching, the english language, mathematics, thinking)
has such an outsized impact on his field of choice. I find that the best and
the brightest tend to be such people and I aspire to attain such a wonderful
status whether at a more local or in this case global level.

Here's to a 100 more Richard! You sound like a pleasure to be around.

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mkagenius
> Richard Guy teaching calculus in Delhi

I couldn't find any other Delhi connection on Google...

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learningbot
He was a teacher at IIT Delhi teaching metro-logy and mathematics and also
wrote a book while there.

