Some sentences or stories that Ana Belén Ramón underlines when she reads books, so she could quote later.

Posts on: erdos

Mar 3, 2008
@ 4:19 pm
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The game of life,” Erdós often said, “is to keep the SF ‘s score low. If you do something bad in life, the SF gets two points. If you don’t do something good that you should have done, the SF gets one point. You never score, so the SF always wins.
”

— The man who loved only numbers, Paul Hoffman

Mar 3, 2008
@ 4:18 pm
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“I’m not qualified to say wheather or not God exists”, Erdós said. “I kind of doubt He does. Nevertheless, I’m always saying that the SF has this transfinite Book -transfinite being a concept in mathematics that is larger than infinite- that contains the best proofs of all mathematical theorems, proofs that are elegant and perfect.” The strongest compliment Erdós gave to a colleague’s work was to say, “It’s straight from the Book”.

[…]

“You don’t have to believe in God, but you should believe in the Book.”

”

— The man who loved only numbers, Paul Hoffman

Mar 3, 2008
@ 4:17 pm
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In the late 1980s Erdós heard of a promising high school student named Glen Whitney who wanted to study matemathics at Harvard but was a little short of the tuition. Erdós arranged to see him and, convinced of the youg man’s talent, lent him $1.000. He asked Whitney to pay him back when it would not cause financial strain. A decade later Graham heard from Whitney, who at last had the money to repay Erdós. “Did Erdós expect me to pay interest?” Whitney wondered. “What should I do?” he asked Graham. Graham talked to Erdós.”Tell him,” Erdós said, “to do with the thousand dollars what I did”.
”

— The man who loved only numbers, Paul Hoffman

Mar 3, 2008
@ 4:16 pm
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His arm was flapping wildly now, and he was coughing. “I don´t understand why the SF has seen fit to send me a cold,” he wheezed. (The SF is the Supreme Fascist, the Number-One Guy Up There, God, who was always tormenting Erdös by hiding his glasses, stealing his Hungarian passport, or, worse yet, keeping to Himself the elegant solutions to all sort of intriguing mathematical problems). “The SF created us to enjoy our suffering” Erdös said. “The sooner we die, the sooner we defy His plans.
”

— The man who loved only numbers, Paul Hoffman

Mar 3, 2008
@ 4:13 pm
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Los matemáticos se juntan normalmente a la hora del café; Erdős decía que un matemático es una máquina para convertir café en teoremas.
”

— Cartas a una joven matemática. Ian Stewart