Philosophy
Say what...Erdős numbers? It's...like, a mathematical attempt at humor.
Wikipedia...
The Erdős number...describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.
It was created by friends as a humorous tribute to the enormous output of Erdős, one of the most prolific modern writers of mathematical papers, and has become well-known in scientific circles as a tongue-in-cheek measurement of mathematical prominence.
Paul Erdős was an influential and itinerant mathematician, who spent a large portion of his later life living out of a suitcase and writing papers with those of his colleagues willing to give him room and board. He published more papers during his life than any other mathematician in history (at least 1400).
More
Bill Ashworth [Linda Hall Library Newsletter] wrote...
Paul Erdös, a Hungarian mathematician, was born Mar. 26, 1913. Brilliant and eccentric, Erdös travelled the world for sixty years with all his belongings in a single suitcase, living off the indulgence of friends and colleagues. If you were a good mathematician, the odds are that one day Erdös would show up on your doorstep with his suitcase and ask for board and lodging. As payment, he would offer to collaborate on a paper or two. When the well ran dry, he would move on to the next household. In this way, Erdös collaborated with over 500 mathematicians and published more papers than anyone in history. As the legend (and the series of publications) grew, a mathematician in 1969 dreamed up the idea of an " Erdös number" as a humorous measure of mathematical eminence. If you wrote a paper with Erdös, you have an Erdös number of 1; there are at least 500 such people, although they are all theoretical mathematicians and you probably would not have heard of any of them. If you did not collaborate directly with Erdös, but you wrote a paper with someone who did, you have an Erdös number of 2. Since many mathematicians write papers with physicists and biologists, there are a few familiar scientists with an Erdös number of two. And if one of these then collaborates with yet another author, that author has an Erdös number of three. And so it goes. It is sort of like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game, except that you run out of mathematicians before you get to Erdös number 3, and of scientists before you get much beyond 5. In case you were wondering, Albert Einstein and Freeman Dyson have an Erdös number of 2; Richard Feynman, Hans Bethe, and Enrico Fermi have an Erdös number of 3, and those with an Erdös number of 4 include Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Linus Pauling, and, yes, even Bill Gates.
Paul Erdős
The Erdös Number Project
- A Slice Of Pi
My Fellow Comedists, This weekend is not only Einstein's birthday, but also pi day. So in honor of 3/14, let's have some mathematics jokes because as we know old mathematicians never die, they just lose some of their functions... An engineer and...
- Snow White And The Seven Habits Of Highly Successful Dwarves
I generally don't respond to blog-memes, partly because of an anti-authoritarian streak where I hate to be told what to think and write about and partly because I like for this to be a blog about ideas, not about me. But I got tagged with this one...
- Balzac, Erdös, Baum, Kierkegaard, Others...approve This Stimulant--coffee
Kate Upton "Artists Who Drink Crazy Amounts of Coffee. (Balzac Was a 50-Cup-a-Day Man.)" by Mason Currey April 19th, 2013 Slate Coffee! It is the great uniting force of my Daily Rituals book. It’s what brings together Beethoven and Proust, Glenn Gould...
- Grigori Perelman Has Turned Down Clay Mathematics Institute's Fields Medal
"A Math Problem Solver Declines a $1 Million Prize" by Dennis Overbye July 1st, 2010 The New York Times Grisha Perelman has finally spoken. The reclusive Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman, aka Grisha, gained worldwide fame by claiming to have...
- Deceased--henri Paul Cartan
Henri Paul Cartan July 8th, 1904 to August 13th, 2008 "Henri Cartan, French Mathematician, Is Dead at 104" by Kenneth Chang August 25, 2008 The New York Times Henri Cartan, a mathematician known for meticulous proofs and for inspiring a revival of...
Philosophy
Erdős numbers
Say what...Erdős numbers? It's...like, a mathematical attempt at humor.
Wikipedia...
The Erdős number...describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.
It was created by friends as a humorous tribute to the enormous output of Erdős, one of the most prolific modern writers of mathematical papers, and has become well-known in scientific circles as a tongue-in-cheek measurement of mathematical prominence.
Paul Erdős was an influential and itinerant mathematician, who spent a large portion of his later life living out of a suitcase and writing papers with those of his colleagues willing to give him room and board. He published more papers during his life than any other mathematician in history (at least 1400).
More
Bill Ashworth [Linda Hall Library Newsletter] wrote...
Paul Erdös, a Hungarian mathematician, was born Mar. 26, 1913. Brilliant and eccentric, Erdös travelled the world for sixty years with all his belongings in a single suitcase, living off the indulgence of friends and colleagues. If you were a good mathematician, the odds are that one day Erdös would show up on your doorstep with his suitcase and ask for board and lodging. As payment, he would offer to collaborate on a paper or two. When the well ran dry, he would move on to the next household. In this way, Erdös collaborated with over 500 mathematicians and published more papers than anyone in history. As the legend (and the series of publications) grew, a mathematician in 1969 dreamed up the idea of an " Erdös number" as a humorous measure of mathematical eminence. If you wrote a paper with Erdös, you have an Erdös number of 1; there are at least 500 such people, although they are all theoretical mathematicians and you probably would not have heard of any of them. If you did not collaborate directly with Erdös, but you wrote a paper with someone who did, you have an Erdös number of 2. Since many mathematicians write papers with physicists and biologists, there are a few familiar scientists with an Erdös number of two. And if one of these then collaborates with yet another author, that author has an Erdös number of three. And so it goes. It is sort of like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game, except that you run out of mathematicians before you get to Erdös number 3, and of scientists before you get much beyond 5. In case you were wondering, Albert Einstein and Freeman Dyson have an Erdös number of 2; Richard Feynman, Hans Bethe, and Enrico Fermi have an Erdös number of 3, and those with an Erdös number of 4 include Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Linus Pauling, and, yes, even Bill Gates.
Paul Erdős
The Erdös Number Project
- A Slice Of Pi
My Fellow Comedists, This weekend is not only Einstein's birthday, but also pi day. So in honor of 3/14, let's have some mathematics jokes because as we know old mathematicians never die, they just lose some of their functions... An engineer and...
- Snow White And The Seven Habits Of Highly Successful Dwarves
I generally don't respond to blog-memes, partly because of an anti-authoritarian streak where I hate to be told what to think and write about and partly because I like for this to be a blog about ideas, not about me. But I got tagged with this one...
- Balzac, Erdös, Baum, Kierkegaard, Others...approve This Stimulant--coffee
Kate Upton "Artists Who Drink Crazy Amounts of Coffee. (Balzac Was a 50-Cup-a-Day Man.)" by Mason Currey April 19th, 2013 Slate Coffee! It is the great uniting force of my Daily Rituals book. It’s what brings together Beethoven and Proust, Glenn Gould...
- Grigori Perelman Has Turned Down Clay Mathematics Institute's Fields Medal
"A Math Problem Solver Declines a $1 Million Prize" by Dennis Overbye July 1st, 2010 The New York Times Grisha Perelman has finally spoken. The reclusive Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman, aka Grisha, gained worldwide fame by claiming to have...
- Deceased--henri Paul Cartan
Henri Paul Cartan July 8th, 1904 to August 13th, 2008 "Henri Cartan, French Mathematician, Is Dead at 104" by Kenneth Chang August 25, 2008 The New York Times Henri Cartan, a mathematician known for meticulous proofs and for inspiring a revival of...