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hardbyte's review against another edition
3.0
Erdos is such an interesting person and mathematician. Obsessed to the core.
madi918's review against another edition
4.0
I had to choose a math book to read for one of my classes in my freshman year of college. I am so glad I chose this one. It was such an interesting read. I think it was enjoyable because it did not solely focus on math, but rather it focused on the biography of a mathematician. There were lots of interesting stories included in the book. Overall really enjoyed it!
simmoril's review against another edition
4.0
In what appears to be a continuing trend of 'watch the documentary, then read the book', I just finished Paul Hoffman's "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdős and the Search for Mathematical Truth" after having seen the documentary "N Is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdős". I have always been a huge fan of mathematics, and I have a deep love for books which highlight the more romantic side of mathematics, the part that is obscured by the endless repetition and memorization that seems to pervade all math classes.
Paul Erdős was one of the world's greatest and most prolific mathematicians. But aside from his seemingly innumerable papers proving theorem after theorem, what made Paul special was his tireless devotion to mathematics. Working 19-hour days well into his 70's and 80's, crisscrossing the globe to work with all sorts of mathematicians, he was an absolute powerhouse of brilliance.
In Hoffman's book, he describes his encounters with some of Erdős' collaborators, as they share stories and anecdotes that highlight what working with Erdős was like. Their description of his hectic pace and his almost child-like innocence with regards to the world at large really help the reader get an idea of the joy and frustration that came with working with such a great mathematician.
I thoroughly enjoyed "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers", and the only real criticism that I can make towards Hoffman's book is that I felt he deviated a little too much when describing the life and history of other mathematicians. Although the story of Fermat's Last Theorem and Wiles' subsequent proof of it is a good story (and made for a fantastic book), I was somewhat surprised to see it take up about 10 pages in the book, considering Erdős had no contributions to the proof.
If you have even a tiny interest in mathematics, I highly suggest watching the documentary "N Is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdős", and then checking out this book. Who knows, it might even rekindle a love for mathematics you didn't even know you had.
Paul Erdős was one of the world's greatest and most prolific mathematicians. But aside from his seemingly innumerable papers proving theorem after theorem, what made Paul special was his tireless devotion to mathematics. Working 19-hour days well into his 70's and 80's, crisscrossing the globe to work with all sorts of mathematicians, he was an absolute powerhouse of brilliance.
In Hoffman's book, he describes his encounters with some of Erdős' collaborators, as they share stories and anecdotes that highlight what working with Erdős was like. Their description of his hectic pace and his almost child-like innocence with regards to the world at large really help the reader get an idea of the joy and frustration that came with working with such a great mathematician.
I thoroughly enjoyed "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers", and the only real criticism that I can make towards Hoffman's book is that I felt he deviated a little too much when describing the life and history of other mathematicians. Although the story of Fermat's Last Theorem and Wiles' subsequent proof of it is a good story (and made for a fantastic book), I was somewhat surprised to see it take up about 10 pages in the book, considering Erdős had no contributions to the proof.
If you have even a tiny interest in mathematics, I highly suggest watching the documentary "N Is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdős", and then checking out this book. Who knows, it might even rekindle a love for mathematics you didn't even know you had.
melissacoello's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
jamie_toomai's review against another edition
4.0
Written by a non-mathematician and as such has a couple of mathematical errors, but that is my only complaint. I thought this book was great. It's probably good that it was written by a non-mathematician so that the full human story could be told. Erdos was such a character. A very entertaining book.
matgala's review against another edition
2.0
Vaig trobar-lo al museu de la ciència i em va semblar que podia estar molt bé. Així que a la mínima que vaig poder, em vaig posar a llegir-lo...
El primer capítol va ser genial. Explicava una mica la vida d'en Paul Erdos, i per això volia jo el llibre, no? El que passa és que, un cop llegit el primer capítol (no eren massa pàgines) em vaig preguntar: "I ara què explicarà?"
Doncs no massa.
La resta de llibre sembla una mica com per omplir. Amb un sol capítol no es fa un llibre. Així que l'autor es posa a explicar anècdotes. El problema és que, si estàs llegint un llibre de l'Erdos, t'imagines que la majoria d'anècdotes seran seves... doncs no!
És un repàs a la història dels matemàtics i les excentricitats i anècdotes. De tant en tant torna a l'Erdos, però a vegades llegeixes pàgines que podrien pertànyer a un altre llibre.
D'altra banda, a part del primer capítol, no hi ha res que segueixi un fil. Està tot molt posat com: "I ara explico aquesta anècdota, i després una altra que no té res a veure".
M'ha decebut bastant (per no dir molt).