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A review by blackoxford
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth by Paul Hoffman
5.0
Authentic Living
Child prodigy, adult genius, benefactor to anyone in need, eccentric professor, persona non grata in the USA, the Soviet Union and several European states, amphetamine addict, lifelong virgin of no fixed address, Paul Erdos had one passion, one religion, and one goal in his life: the solving of mathematical problems. He was a singular human being, incomparable even among other singular men like Albert Einstein, and William Teller, and Andrew Wiles who were his friends.
Paul Erdos wrote more mathematics than any other mathematician except the 18th century Leonhard Euler. But Erdos, by choice, never held a permanent academic position of significance. He was a competent teacher but could not tolerate the distraction that teaching implied for his problem-solving.
He lived primarily from the kindness of fellow-mathematicians with whom he collaborated constantly during a sort of royal progress from continent to continent. After the age of 50, he was accompanied in his travels by his aged and sickly mother who ate every meal with him and insisted on sleeping in the same room.
Perhaps, however, the most remarkable aspect of Erdos's life was the demonstration that knowledge neither requires nor necessarily results in power. At no point did his global intellectual eminence lead to material wealth and influence. He simply wouldn't allow it.
Like a medieval monk, or better said a Galacian rabbi, Erdos lived solely for the infinite cause of mathematical understanding. He was never seduced by his 'earning potential', the prestige of his reputation, or even by the politics rampant during his lifetime to engage in anything but more and more mathematics.
For me it is this persistent, consistent expression of who and what he was, in opposition to virtually every kind of modern 'value' that is not only the most admirable but also the most inspiring thing about this truly authentic person.
Child prodigy, adult genius, benefactor to anyone in need, eccentric professor, persona non grata in the USA, the Soviet Union and several European states, amphetamine addict, lifelong virgin of no fixed address, Paul Erdos had one passion, one religion, and one goal in his life: the solving of mathematical problems. He was a singular human being, incomparable even among other singular men like Albert Einstein, and William Teller, and Andrew Wiles who were his friends.
Paul Erdos wrote more mathematics than any other mathematician except the 18th century Leonhard Euler. But Erdos, by choice, never held a permanent academic position of significance. He was a competent teacher but could not tolerate the distraction that teaching implied for his problem-solving.
He lived primarily from the kindness of fellow-mathematicians with whom he collaborated constantly during a sort of royal progress from continent to continent. After the age of 50, he was accompanied in his travels by his aged and sickly mother who ate every meal with him and insisted on sleeping in the same room.
Perhaps, however, the most remarkable aspect of Erdos's life was the demonstration that knowledge neither requires nor necessarily results in power. At no point did his global intellectual eminence lead to material wealth and influence. He simply wouldn't allow it.
Like a medieval monk, or better said a Galacian rabbi, Erdos lived solely for the infinite cause of mathematical understanding. He was never seduced by his 'earning potential', the prestige of his reputation, or even by the politics rampant during his lifetime to engage in anything but more and more mathematics.
For me it is this persistent, consistent expression of who and what he was, in opposition to virtually every kind of modern 'value' that is not only the most admirable but also the most inspiring thing about this truly authentic person.