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Paul Erdős (2000)

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Re: Paul Erdős (2000)

#41

Post by pmiller2 »

cambalache wrote: post #33

Even more impressive for Euler. Most (not all) of Erdos work is considered of very limited quality, a little better than solving quirky problems in number theory or combinatorics. Euler on the other hand is a class on his own. Just look at this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_things_named_after_Leo... And as mentioned in the article and known by every mathematician there is a long list of things that were disc…

> Most (not all) of Erdos work is considered of very limited quality

Are you kidding? Do you have an example of a paper that you'd say was of "very limited quality?"

Re: Paul Erdős (2000)

#42

Post by dang »

If curious, past threads:

Paul Erdős in Madras (2019) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23593836 - June 2020 (13 comments)

Erdős–Bacon number - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22305115 - Feb 2020 (35 comments)

The Mathematical Nomad, Paul Erdős - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20483681 - July 2019 (32 comments)

The Erdos Paradox - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18818511 - Jan 2019 (40 comments)

Paul Erdős: a life that added up to something (1996) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12664721 - Oct 2016 (64 comments)

New Erdős Paper Solves Egyptian Fraction Problem - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10873517 - Jan 2016 (20 comments)

Erdős–Bacon number - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10791063 - Dec 2015 (1 comment)

Erdős–Bacon Number - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7654399 - April 2014 (13 comments)

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers - Paul Hofman on Paul Erdos [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6970092 - Dec 2013 (10 comments)

Paul Erdős - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1960827 - Dec 2010 (1 comment)

N is a Number : A Portrait of Paul Erdős - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1875406 - Nov 2010 (1 comment)

Erdős number - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1738721 - Sept 2010 (22 comments)

N is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdös - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1615829 - Aug 2010 (2 comments)

A Life that Added Up to Something: Paul Erdos (1996) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=620896 - May 2009 (16 comments)

Re: Paul Erdős (2000)

#44

Post by pmiller2 »

barry-cotter wrote: post #7
Koshkin wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mathematics is infinite.

True but publication standards change over time. If none of Euler’s publications are “trivial” in the sense that processors will gloss over the proof during lectures that would be surprising.

That would be surprising. But, my experience has generally been that when a result of Euler comes up in class, it's more frequently preceded with "this was published by Euler but not really rigorously proven." Standards of proof were obviously different 250 years ago.

Re: Paul Erdős (2000)

#45

Post by pmiller2 »

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #19
dan-robertson wrote: post #2

One 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.

Gauss received his doctorate in 1799. He was primarily active in the 19th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss#Career_an...

Re: Paul Erdős (2000)

#46

Post by pmiller2 »

ggm wrote: post #22

Had a mate who put him up, but for the non Erdós number reason: Erdós liked to play bridge a lot. So, practical group theory in the base-52 space..

Hmm... one of my professors who was a collaborator of Erdos is also a bridge player. Was Erdos any good at bridge?

Re: Paul Erdős (2000)

#47

Post by pmiller2 »

nonseqseq wrote: post #15
sadmann1 wrote: post #8

The 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. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s#Personality https://amphetamines.com/paul-erdos/

> Ritalin and benzedrine.

Neither of which, one should point out, is actually "meth," not that that detracts from the GP comment's point. Prescription methamphetamine is called Desoxyn. Ritalin is not even technically an amphetamine. :P

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine#Medical

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylphenidate

Re: Paul Erdős (2000)

#48

Post by dan-robertson »

mannykannot wrote: post #10
Koshkin wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mathematics is infinite.

Indeed, but it is done on an expanding boundary. Nevertheless, I do not agree with the spirit of GP’s point, as one could equally argue that Euler accomplished so much while working from what was, from today’s perspective, an impoverished starting point. There is a term, ‘Whig history’, which has come to epitomize the attitude of evaluating historical characters in accordance with current standards. It is not a helpf…

Whiggishness is just a massive problem in the history of science and mathematics. There’s so much history that sees it as inevitable as if all the contemporaries of Newton and Leibniz were desperately trying to invent the calculus if only they could figure out how to do it.

Re: Paul Erdős (2000)

#49

Post by barry-cotter »

whalesalad wrote: post #13

He was also on amphetamines constantly. If I was on amphetamine all the time I’d get a lot accomplished as well.

I encourage you to perform the experiment. Speed is like coffee in that it can move productivity and energy around but it has limited effects on the quantity of either.

Re: Paul Erdős (2000)

#50

Post by ggm »

pmiller2 wrote: post #46
ggm wrote: post #22

Had a mate who put him up, but for the non Erdós number reason: Erdós liked to play bridge a lot. So, practical group theory in the base-52 space..

Hmm... one of my professors who was a collaborator of Erdos is also a bridge player. Was Erdos any good at bridge?

Dunno. Haven't seen the guy since 1988. I would suspect he was, goes with the territory.
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