The Man Who Loved Only Numbers
"Paul Erdos, the most prolific and eccentric mathematician of our time, forsook all creature comforts - including a hometo pursue his lifelong study of numbers. He was a man who possessed unimaginable powers of thought yet was unable to manage some of the simplest daily tasks." "For more than six decades, Erdos lived out of two tattered suitcases, crisscrossing four continents at a frenzied pace, chasing mathematical problems and fresh talent. Erdos saw mathematics as a search for lasting beauty and ultimate truth. It was a search Erdos never abandoned, even as his life was torn asunder by some of the major political dramas of our time." "In this biography, Hoffman uses Erdos's life and work to introduce readers to a cast of remarkable geniuses, from Archimedes to Stanislaw Ulam, one of the chief minds behind the Los Alamos nuclear project. He draws on years of interviews with Ronald Graham and Fan Chung, Erdos's chief American caretakers and devoted collaborators. With an eye for the hilarious anecdote, Hoffman explains mathematical problems from Fermat's Last Theorem to the more frivolous "Monty Hall dilemma." What emerges is an intimate look at the world of mathematics and an indelible portrait of Erdos, a charming and impish philosopher-scientist whose accomplishments continue to enrich and inform our world."--Jacket.
Stats for nerds
35recommend
54mentions
52people
2007–2024years
69% recommend31% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- > Ronald Graham, a fellow mathematician-juggler...
I first read about Graham as a friend and collaborator of Paul Erdos in 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers'. As well as his mathematical achievements, Graham was also at one time president of the Internal Jugglers Association. If you have never read the book, it is a fascinating insight into the lives and non-math idiosyncrasies of Erdos and his fellow wizards.
- The Man Who Loved Only Numbers (1998) is a favorite read of mine 25 years later.
- Paul Erdős was a very interesting person. I read his biography The Man Who Loved Only Numbers.
He couch surfed and wrote papers with others his entire life and became the most prolific published mathematician ever. He also loved to teach kids serious math and not underestimate their thinking.
Also I believe his name is pronounced like air-dish.
- TLDR; The book referenced is a very easy and entertaining read as I recall. Would recommend.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Who-Loved-Only-Numbers/dp/18570...
- There is also an excellent book about Erdos for adults:
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Loved-Only-Numbers/dp/0786884...
- For anyone interested in learning more about Erdos, he has a fascinating life story well told in The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdös and the Search for Mathematical Truth by Paul Hoffman.
It's available for free on Open Library: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL354306M/
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