My Brain is Open: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos

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Simon and Schuster, 28 de febr. 2000 - 224 pàgines
Paul Erdõs, one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century, and certainly the most eccentric, was internationally recognized as a prodigy by age seventeen. Hungarian-born Erdõs believed that the meaning of life was to prove and conjecture. His work in the United States and all over the world has earned him the titles of the century's leading number theorist and the most prolific mathematician who ever lived. Erdõs's important work has proved pivotal to the development of computer science, and his unique personality makes him an unforgettable character in the world of mathematics. Incapable of the smallest of household tasks and having no permanent home or job, he was sustained by the generosity of colleagues and by his own belief in the beauty of numbers.
Witty and filled with the sort of mathematical puzzles that intrigued Erdõs and continue to fascinate mathematicians today, My Brain Is Open is the story of this strange genius and a journey in his footsteps through the world of mathematics, where universal truths await discovery like hidden treasures and where brilliant proofs are poetry.
 

Continguts

TRAVELING
13
PROOF
19
CONTACT
45
THE HAPPY END PROBLEM
64
ERDOS AND THE FATE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION
90
PARADISE LOST
101
THE JOY OF SETS
118
THE PRIMES OF DR PAUL ERDŐS
133
SAM AND JOE AND UNCLE PAUL
152
SIX DEGREES OF COLLABORATION
176
NOTE ON SOURCES
205
INDEX
215
Copyright

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Sobre l'autor (2000)

Bruce Schechter holds a Ph.D. in physics from M.I.T. and is a former editor at Physics Today and a former staff writer at Discover. He is the author of The Path of No Resistance, a book about superconductivity.

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