1-2021 The mathematician who was a tramp

Paul Erdos PGOM, LD, AD,LD, CD

Paul Erdos was a brilliant hungarian mathematician. He was known both for his social practice of mathematics (he engaged more than 500 collaborators) and for his eccentric lifestyle. He did not have a roof of his own, and spent his life as a nomadic tramp.

Possessions meant little to Erdős; most of his belongings would fit in a small suitcase, as dictated by his itinerant lifestyle. Awards and other earnings were generally donated to people in need and various worthy causes. He spent most of his life traveling between scientific conferences, universities and the homes of colleagues all over the world. He earned enough in stipends from universities as a guest lecturer, and from various mathematical awards, to fund his travels and basic needs; money left over he used to fund cash prizes for mathematicians.

He would typically show up at a colleague's doorstep and announce "my brain is open", staying long enough to collaborate on a few papers before moving on a few days later. In many cases, he would ask the current collaborator about whom to visit next.

Who is a PGOM LD AD LD CD ? See this video for the answer.

This, and many more similar stuff is available here. Take a look.

Who says, mathematicians have no sense of humour ?

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1-2015 When did it all start ?

On Christmas Day (25 Dec.) I posed myself the question >> "When was Jesus born ?" . More out of curiosity and perplexion as a maths teacher. The question was repeated and published on the Internet, for all the world to answer ::

http://partha-the-prof.blogspot.in/2012/01/32012-when-was-jesus-christ-born.html

http://partha-the-prof.blogspot.in/2012/01/82012-when-was-jc-born-sequel.html

Now, almost three years later, I get a clue from someone who knows more than me on these matters :: http://aristean.org/birthmay23.htm

Then, why did someone start the confusion with 25 Dec. ?

There is also confusion on the :

date of crucifixion of JC

The whole question is much more fundamental, and of serious tenor when we ask "When exactly did CE start ?" Are we following a calendar which is of questionable origin ?

I am still confused.

partha

48 / 2012 Boy or Girl paradox

A simple question in probability theory. The answer is not so simple. Take a look at :: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_or_Girl_paradox to see how mathematics can sometimes be bewildering to many of us.

partha

13/2012 Using LaTeX for maths

LaTeX is frequently used for typesetting mathematically rich text.How many of us know how to do this nicely ?

Here are some useful tips::

http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~hildebr/tex/tips-mathdisplays.html

partha

112/2011 Saluting a mathematical genius

India celebrates 125 years of Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920). . It is so gratifying to note the way we are celebrating this gift India gave to mathematics.

THE HINDU, India's most respected newspaper, carries a full supplement of 8 pages dedicated to Ramanujan. It also carries a whole page interview with Robert Kanigel, author of Ramanujan's biography "The man who knew infinity". The year 2012 has been nominated as the year of Mathematics. 22 Dec.(his day of birth) will be declared as the "National Mathematics day". The Prime Minister of India will inaugurate the year-long celebrations. A movie on Ramanujan's life has been planned.

I can't help comparing this expression of celebrating mathematics, with the less than lukewarm attention this same newspaper gave to ICM 2010, a world class conference on mathematics, held in 2010 in Hyderabad.

In my own little way, I have added two books on mathematics/Ramanujan to
the Professor's bookshelf

Let us hope all this will inspire our future mathematicians, and bring us at least one more Ramanujan.

partha

111/2011 Maths on the Internet

Dont try too hard to learn maths. There is always help on the Internet.

Start here (link)

Interesting property of Fibonacci series

When we take a look at Fibonacci series, through modulo arithmetic, we get some interesting observations :

http://www.math.temple.edu/~renault/fibonacci/fib.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisano_period

Maths is interesting, because there is so much beauty to discover.

partha

PS: This was a question in my exam for Kathmandu Uiniversity students.

YARMB

Yet another remarkable mathematics blog YARMB

Take a look ::
http://divisbyzero.com/

partha

YAGMB

Yet another great maths blog


http://micromath.wordpress.com/

Make sure you follow all the links.

partha

Are you struggling with your maths?

Maybe you are suffering from from dyscalculia, the mathematical equivalent of dyslexia. But unlike many dyslexia sufferers, you probably haven't received the help you need to cope with your condition. Get more details here ::http://plus.maths.org/content/struggling-your-maths

A tutorial about graph colouring

I have added a new tutorial ::


http://www.freewebs.com/profpartha/publications/color-app.pdf

Take a look, and send me your comments (and the box of chocolates).

partha

Why you should not be a maths Professor

Why you should not be a maths Professor ::

http://www.freewebs.com/profpartha/mathprof.htm

partha

One more source for graph theory

A very well done paper on graph thoery, mostly on the applications of graph theory ::


http://www.dharwadker.org/pirzada/applications/

Take a look.

partha

For lovers of mathematics

Lovers of mathematics will

love this.

Take a look.

partha

I now have an entry in the Electronic World Directory of Mathematicians (EWDM) maintained by the International mathematical Union.

Visit ::

http://www.mathunion.org/ewdm/search.php

and search for "partha"


partha

Not so "stupid maths tricks"

Take a look::

http://cactus.eas.asu.edu/partha/Columns/04-23-Math.htm

partha

Leslie Lamport's writings

I came across a site which collects and summarises the writings of an amazing person -- Leslie Lamport. This site also gives links to the actual papers, so you can download them too. Take a look at ::



https://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/lamport/pubs/pubs.html

partha

PS Sad thing is, Lamport works for Microsoft ;-(

PPS: You can also get to know Lamport, from his home page at::


http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/lamport/

More maths prizes at ICM2010

In an earlier post I had mentioned about some great prizes for maths, announced in the ICM2010 conference. I have now discovered two more awards. Strangely, the ICM2010 website posted this information in an obscure location, separately. Of course, the Indian Press was blissfully ignorant of all this, since they were busy covering the achievements of our politicians.

O. May Prize for the History of Mathematics: Prof. Radha Charan Gupta is the first Indian to be awarded the Kenneth O. May Prize for the History of Mathematics.

The Prize is named after the mathematician and historian Kenneth
O. May founder of the International Commission for the History
of Mathematics and its journal Historia Mathematica. The prize,
instituted in 1989, consists of a bronze medal and is given once
in four years in appreciation of a mathematician's scholarly work
in the history of mathematics.

Leelavati Award : Simon Lehna Singh, the well-known
physicist-turned British author, journalist and TV producer, who
specializes in popular writing on mathematical and scientific
topics, has been chosen for the Leelavati Award that has been
instituted for outstanding contributions to public outreach in
mathematics by an individual. Dr. Simon Singh is the author of
two best-selling books:: Fermat's last theorem, The code book.


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Maths awards

One of the biggest events in the International Congress of mathematicians 2010, now on at Hyderabad, india, is the announcement of the world's topmost awards in mathematics. We will get to know the people who made amazing contributions to mathematics.

The awards are listed at ::
http://www.icm2010.org.in/imu-prizes

This year's award winners are listed at ::
http://www.icm2010.org.in/imu-prizes/prize-winners-2010

You can see the names, affiliations and a brief bio sketch of the awardees. You can also get to know the citation of the award.

Take look.

Try harder. Maybe you will find your name in the next list.

partha

Mathematical writing

"Mathematical Writing" by Donald E. Knuth, Tracy Larrabee, and Paul M. Roberts

This is a report based on a course given at Stanford University in 1987.

I stumbled on a pdf version of this classic by D E Knuth. Gives you many rules of clean and clear mathematical writing. It borrows many ideas from the classic book of style by Struk and White. This is a must-read for all those who (like me) use maths for making a living. Wish my maths teachers had read this book before teaching me maths.

partha

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