Cover of the book The Man Who Loved Only Numbers

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The Man Who Loved Only Numbers

byPaul Hoffman

Genres: Biography Innovators and Inventors

Who is this book for? Readers interested in mathematics, biographies of eccentric geniuses, and those who appreciate humor in life stories.

Topics IdentityFriendshipSurvival

MoodHopeful, Reflective

HumorOccasional Humor

The biography of a mathematical genius. Paul Erdos was the most prolific pure mathematician in history and, arguably, the strangest too.’A mathematical genius of the first order, Paul Erdos was totally obsessed with his subject – he thought and wrote mathematics for nineteen hours a day until he died. He travelled constantly, living out of a plastic bag and had no interest in food, sex, companionship, art – all that is usually indispensible to a human life. Paul Hoffman, in this marvellous biography, gives us a vivid and strangely moving portrait of this singular creature, one that brings out not only Erdos’s genius and his oddness, but his warmth and sense of fun, the joyfulness of his strange life.’ Oliver SacksFor six decades Erdos had no job, no hobbies, no wife, no home; he never learnt to cook, do laundry, drive a car and died a virgin. Instead he travelled the world with his mother in tow, arriving at the doorstep of esteemed mathematicians declaring ‘My brain is open’. He travelled until his death at 83, racing across four continents to prove as many theorems as possible, fuelled by a diet of espresso and amphetamines. With more than 1,500 papers written or co-written, a daily routine of 19 hours of mathematics a day, seven days a week, Paul Erdos was one of the most extraordinary thinkers of our times.

Language

Published on

06/03/1999

Pages

302

Format

Paperback

ISBN

9781857028294

Price Comparison

12.99 £

18.49 €

20.99 €

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