Not to be confused with the PBS Nova episode "The Man Who Loved Numbers" (Season 15, Ep 19), about Ramanujan.
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is a biography of the famous mathematician Paul Erdős written by Paul Hoffman. The book was first published on July 15, 1998, by Hyperion Books as a hardcover edition. A paperback edition appeared in 1999. The book is, in the words of the author, "a work in oral history based on the recollections of Erdős, his collaborators and their spouses". The book was a bestseller in the United Kingdom and has been published in 15 different languages. The book won the 1999 Rhône-Poulenc Prize, beating many distinguished and established writers, including E. O. Wilson.[2]
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers describes how Paul Erdős visited Jon Folkman after Folkman awoke from surgery for brain cancer. To restore Folkman's confidence, Erdős immediately challenged him to solve mathematical problems.[1]
Hoffman received an assignment by The Atlantic Monthly in 1987 to profile Erdős, which won the National Magazine Award for feature writing. After this, Hoffman followed Erdős on his travels for the last 10 years of his life learning about his exceedingly unusual life and interviewing his numerous collaborators in the process of writing this book.
Contentedit
A large part of the book concerns Erdős, but a lot of it is about other mathematicians, past and present, including Ronald Graham, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and G.H. Hardy.[3] In the book, Erdős enjoys listening to Hardy when he speaks about Ramanujan. Hoffman also tries to give examples of what mathematics is and why he views it as important, and why many mathematicians such as Erdős devote their whole lives to mathematics. It also contains some history of Europe and the United States of Erdős's time.
The book, on the whole, portrays Erdős in a favourable light, pointing out his many endearing qualities, like his childlike simplicity, his generosity and altruistic nature, his kindness and gentleness towards children. However, it also attempts to illustrate his helplessness in doing mundane tasks, the difficulties faced by those close to him because of his eccentricities, and his stubborn and frustrating behaviour.
Hoffman reports the following anecdote, which displays Erdős's single-minded devotion to his friends and mathematics. In the late 1960s, the young mathematician Jon Folkman was diagnosed as having advanced brain cancer. During Folkman's hospitalization, he was visited repeatedly by Ronald Graham and Paul Erdős. After his brain surgery, Folkman was despairing that he had lost his mathematical skills. As soon as Folkman received Graham and Erdős at the hospital, Erdős challenged Folkman with mathematical problems, helping to rebuild his confidence.[1]
Hoffman notes that Folkman's recovery was short-lived. Notwithstanding his ability to solve the problems posed by Erdős, Folkman purchased a gun and killed himself. Folkman's supervisor at RAND, Delbert Ray Fulkerson, blamed himself for failing to notice suicidal behaviors in Folkman. Years later Fulkerson also killed himself.[1]
Writing styleedit
The book is mostly written without much technical detail and can be read by anyone without a mathematical background. Hoffman does give some relatively simple examples of mathematical problems throughout the book (like Cantor's diagonal argument) to illustrate some of the ideas in modern mathematics.
Notesedit
^ abcHoffman, Paul (1998), The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdős and the Search for Mathematical Truth, Hyperion, pp. 109–110, ISBN978-0-7868-6362-4.
^Prizes for Science Books previous winners and shortlists, The Royal Society website
^Alexander, James (September 27, 1998). "Planning an Infinite Stay". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
loved, only, numbers, confused, with, nova, episode, loved, numbers, season, about, ramanujan, biography, famous, mathematician, paul, erdős, written, paul, hoffman, book, first, published, july, 1998, hyperion, books, hardcover, edition, paperback, edition, a. Not to be confused with the PBS Nova episode The Man Who Loved Numbers Season 15 Ep 19 about Ramanujan The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is a biography of the famous mathematician Paul Erdos written by Paul Hoffman The book was first published on July 15 1998 by Hyperion Books as a hardcover edition A paperback edition appeared in 1999 The book is in the words of the author a work in oral history based on the recollections of Erdos his collaborators and their spouses The book was a bestseller in the United Kingdom and has been published in 15 different languages The book won the 1999 Rhone Poulenc Prize beating many distinguished and established writers including E O Wilson 2 The Man Who Loved Only NumbersFront coverAuthorPaul HoffmanOriginal titleThe Man Who Loved Only Numbers The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical TruthCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreBiographyPublishedJuly 15 1998PublisherHyperion BooksMedia typePrintPages301 pp ISBN978 0786863624The Man Who Loved Only Numbers describes how Paul Erdos visited Jon Folkman after Folkman awoke from surgery for brain cancer To restore Folkman s confidence Erdos immediately challenged him to solve mathematical problems 1 Contents 1 How the book came about 2 Content 2 1 Erdos s nursing of Jon Folkman 3 Writing style 4 Notes 5 ReferencesHow the book came about editHoffman received an assignment by The Atlantic Monthly in 1987 to profile Erdos which won the National Magazine Award for feature writing After this Hoffman followed Erdos on his travels for the last 10 years of his life learning about his exceedingly unusual life and interviewing his numerous collaborators in the process of writing this book Content editA large part of the book concerns Erdos but a lot of it is about other mathematicians past and present including Ronald Graham Carl Friedrich Gauss Srinivasa Ramanujan and G H Hardy 3 In the book Erdos enjoys listening to Hardy when he speaks about Ramanujan Hoffman also tries to give examples of what mathematics is and why he views it as important and why many mathematicians such as Erdos devote their whole lives to mathematics It also contains some history of Europe and the United States of Erdos s time The book on the whole portrays Erdos in a favourable light pointing out his many endearing qualities like his childlike simplicity his generosity and altruistic nature his kindness and gentleness towards children However it also attempts to illustrate his helplessness in doing mundane tasks the difficulties faced by those close to him because of his eccentricities and his stubborn and frustrating behaviour Erdos s nursing of Jon Folkman edit Main article Jon Folkman Hoffman reports the following anecdote which displays Erdos s single minded devotion to his friends and mathematics In the late 1960s the young mathematician Jon Folkman was diagnosed as having advanced brain cancer During Folkman s hospitalization he was visited repeatedly by Ronald Graham and Paul Erdos After his brain surgery Folkman was despairing that he had lost his mathematical skills As soon as Folkman received Graham and Erdos at the hospital Erdos challenged Folkman with mathematical problems helping to rebuild his confidence 1 Hoffman notes that Folkman s recovery was short lived Notwithstanding his ability to solve the problems posed by Erdos Folkman purchased a gun and killed himself Folkman s supervisor at RAND Delbert Ray Fulkerson blamed himself for failing to notice suicidal behaviors in Folkman Years later Fulkerson also killed himself 1 Writing style editThe book is mostly written without much technical detail and can be read by anyone without a mathematical background Hoffman does give some relatively simple examples of mathematical problems throughout the book like Cantor s diagonal argument to illustrate some of the ideas in modern mathematics Notes edit a b c Hoffman Paul 1998 The Man Who Loved Only Numbers The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth Hyperion pp 109 110 ISBN 978 0 7868 6362 4 Prizes for Science Books previous winners and shortlists The Royal Society website Alexander James September 27 1998 Planning an Infinite Stay The New York Times Retrieved 6 May 2022 References editHoffman Paul 1997 Archimedes Revenge The Joys and Perils of Mathematics Ballantine Books ISBN 0 449 00089 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Man Who Loved Only Numbers amp oldid 1120987937, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
