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This Nomadic Eccentric Was the Most Prolific Mathematician in History | Scientific American

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The doorbell rings, and you’re surprised to find your colleague on the stoop. He’s slight, elderly, buzzing from amphetamines, unkempt and uninvited. He shoulders past you into your living room, a single suitcase containing all of his worldly possessions in tow, and declares, “My brain is open.” You have no idea how long he intends to stay because he doesn’t have a house of his own to return to. You’re expected to do his laundry and cook his meals because he can’t be bothered to learn to take care of himself. In exchange, you’ll receive a sleepless whirlwind communing with one of the greatest mathematical minds of the 20th century. Your involuntary hospitality will likely result in an academic publication with your name on it. This was many people’s experience of Paul Erdős, the most prolific mathematician of all time. Erdős (pronounced air-duhsh—the ő has a Hungarian double acute accent mark, not an umlaut) was born in Budapest in 1913 to two high school math teachers. He was a pamper

January 24, 2024 5 min read Add Us On Google Add SciAm This Nomadic Eccentric Was the Most Prolific Mathematician in History The bizarre life and legacy of Paul Erdős, the most prolific mathematician ever By Jack Murtagh edited by Jeanna Bryner Paul Erdős ( left ) with his colleagues Arthur Herald Stone and Shizuo Kakutani. New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News via Getty Images Love math? Sign up for our weekly newsletter Proof Positive Enter your email I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Scientific American and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Poli

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