Book details of 'MY BRAIN IS OPEN: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos'

Title	MY BRAIN IS OPEN: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos
Author(s)	Bruce Schechter
ISBN	0684859807
Language	English
Published	February 2000
Publisher	Touchstone Books

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Reviewer amazon.com wrote:
Physicist and science writer Bruce Schechter's biography of legendary Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdös is an engaging portrait, warm and intimate, bringing this strange, happy man to life. Schechter's focus is quite a bit tighter, and more traditionally biographical, than Paul Hoffman's in The Man Who Loved Only Numbers. Here, we get to see Erdös's brief childhood transform quickly into a carefree adolescence of solving difficult math problems with his circle of brilliant friends--uniquely encouraged by a country that valued the contributions of mathematics in a way that has never been equaled. Fleeing the Holocaust, Erdös never settled down, instead traveling from place to place, showing up on the doorsteps of other mathematicians with his few possessions and an open mind. During his career, Erdös published more papers than any other mathematician in history. Most of the papers were collaborations: For Erdös, the mathematics that consumed most of his waking hours was not a solitary pursuit but a social activity. One of the great mathematical discoveries of the twentieth century was the simple equation that two heads are better than one.... That radical transformation of how mathematics is created is the result of many factors, not the least of which was the infectious example set by Erdös. Schechter spoke with many of Erdös's collaborators to complete this biography, which reveals the odd mathematician as charming, opinionated, and completely dependent upon the kindness of others. Schechter not only tells his fascinating story, but introduces some intriguing mathematics problems (with easy-to-understand explanations) to show readers why Erdös loved the elegance of numbers more than anything else in the world. --Therese Littleton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
The story of Paul Erdos, peripatetic mathematician, is certainly fascinating. His mathematical work is important enough, but of equal or greater significance is the social, or perhaps literary, concept known to mathematicians as the Erdos number (see http://www.acs.oakland.edu/~grossman/erdoshp.html). Erdos collaborated, or co-authored papers, with over five hundred colleagues, and that number is climbing even after his death, as work stimulated by conversations with him continues to be published. Schechter's account of Erdos' unsettled life is seamlessly integrated with the mathematics that inspired it. In fact, I cannot recall another biography which so carefully weaves the technical content in with the biographical facts. Interestingly, it is not Erdos' work itself which is included, but the basic work of proofs, particularly number theory. In this way, the text illuminates, as far as may be possible, the world of the mathematician, even for the non-mathematical reader. This tutelary factor improves the vitality of the work: Erdos was an obsessed man, and the author goes a long way to demonstrating even to those who don't share this obsession what and why it is. The Erdos who inhabits Schechter's book is not necessarily appealing, despite the author's sympathetic treatment. The picture we are presented with, reading between the lines, is not that of a happy or attractive person. Productive, prolific, and undeniably portentous he was, but also unusual and unsettled. The constant travel and endless collaborations can be seen as a rejection of the standards of a world in which he did not, early on, succeed, and the stream of work can also appear as a distraction from a life which had almost none of the normal attachments. Still, the book itself is an excellent piece of work in terms of scientific biography. copyright Robert M. Slade, 2000
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Book description:

Paul Erdõs, one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century, and certainly the most eccentric, was internationally recognized as a prodigy by age seventeen. Hungarian-born Erdõs believed that the meaning of life was to prove and conjecture. His work in the United States and all over the world has earned him the titles of the century's leading number theorist and the most prolific mathematician who ever lived. Erdõs's important work has proved pivotal to the development of computer science, and his unique personality makes him an unforgettable character in the world of mathematics. Incapable of the smallest of household tasks and having no permanent home or job, he was sustained by the generosity of colleagues and by his own belief in the beauty of numbers. Witty and filled with the sort of mathematical puzzles that intrigued Erdõs and continue to fascinate mathematicians today, My Brain Is Open is the story of this strange genius and a journey in his footsteps through the world of mathematics, where universal truths await discovery like hidden treasures and where brilliant proofs are poetry.