Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mathematics is infinite.
But asymptotic..
Proof?
Paul Erdős (2000)
11–20 of 87 posts
Re: Paul Erdős (2000)
#12The Hungarian bloke - 26 March 1913 – 20 September 1996
The Swiss bloke - 15 April 1707 – 18 September 1783
Things change over 200 years.
Re: Paul Erdős (2000)
#13He was also on amphetamines constantly. If I was on amphetamine all the time I’d get a lot accomplished as well.
Re: Paul Erdős (2000)
#14One thing about Euler is that for much of his life[1] he was basically able to publish whatever he liked without worrying about how many pages it would be and suchlike. He would often explain what things he thought of or tried and how he came to his answer. Compare this to Gauss who didn’t have this ability and kept his papers mostly limited to the definitions, propositions and proofs, although this could have been a…
Euler had the advantage of being alive during a time when a lot less things had been already discovered.
1) you think that was an advantage?
2) that is a small way to think
Re: Paul Erdős (2000)
#15The power of all consuming passion and meth
Indeed. Ritalin and benzedrine. Originally prescribed for depression apparently. Notably his output was quite high adjusting for his age at the time.
Re: Paul Erdős (2000)
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Euler had the advantage of being alive during a time when a lot less things had been already discovered.
1) you think that was an advantage? 2) that is a small way to think
A recognition of diminishing returns on effort and low-hanging fruit is not "a small way to think." You might not agree that these things exist but that is no reason to insult someone who believes a fairly mainstream thing about scientific progress.
Re: Paul Erdős (2000)
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Euler had the advantage of being alive during a time when a lot less things had been already discovered.
1) you think that was an advantage? 2) that is a small way to think
Newton and Leibniz figured out calculus at about the same time.
Only one guy published a paper outlining a method for basic integration in the 20th century.
It obviously got harder to discover calculus.
Re: Paul Erdős (2000)
#18I think it's not just about the sheer amount of papers one writes, but also the impact they have on the literature. And for Euler, he was lucky to live in an era without the problems of lengthy review processes as we see today.
Re: Paul Erdős (2000)
#19One thing about Euler is that for much of his life[1] he was basically able to publish whatever he liked without worrying about how many pages it would be and suchlike. He would often explain what things he thought of or tried and how he came to his answer. Compare this to Gauss who didn’t have this ability and kept his papers mostly limited to the definitions, propositions and proofs, although this could have been a…
If Gauss published less, I'd be inclined to attribute it to differences in scientific publishing culture in the 1700s vs. 1900s. In the sense of, hey, paper and books and such were far more expensive in the 1700s.
Re: Paul Erdős (2000)
#20People talk about the drug usage a lot, but what's also underrated is how much Erdős optimized his life for math. He traveled constantly, attending talks and collaborating with other mathematicians. These collaborations would be intense affairs. You were expected to put him up in your own house, feed him, do his laundry, and pay for transportation to his next location. In return, you'd get to work with one of the greatest mathematical problem solvers ever. He basically figured out a way to do nothing but mathematics for a solid few decades
I'd imagine that between the drug usage and the hosting, these collaborators didn't get that much sleep. Furthermore, because of Erdős' lifestyle, I'd bet that these papers were primarily written up and refined by his co-authors (Ron Graham in many cases). I doubt he'd have the time, what with the constant traveling.