5-2024 The mathematician who starved himself to death .....

Mathematicians are queer people. The more they are gifted, the more they behave weird. Here is the best example :: Kurt Godel Kurt Gödel, the author of Gödel’s incompleteness theorems (Kurt Gödel 1906 -1978 )

was born in Austria-Hungary. His two incompleteness theorems changed the way we should look at mathematics. “The first incompleteness theorem states that in any consistent formal system F within which a certain amount of arithmetic can be carried out, there are statements of the language of F which can neither be proved nor disproved in F. According to the second incompleteness theorem, such a formal system cannot prove that the system itself is consistent (assuming it is indeed consistent).” Gödel also showed that neither the axiom of choice nor the continuum hypothesis can be disproved from the accepted Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, assuming that its axioms are consistent. The former result opened the door for mathematicians to assume the axiom of choice in their proofs.
He also made important contributions to proof theory by clarifying the connections between classical logic, intuitionistic logic, and modal logic.
Later in his life, Gödel suffered periods of mental instability and illness. Following the assassination of his close friend Moritz Schlick, Gödel developed an obsessive fear of being poisoned, and would eat only food prepared by his wife Adele. Adele was hospitalized beginning in late 1977, and in her absence Gödel refused to eat; he weighed 29 kilograms (65 lb) when he died of "malnutrition and inanition caused by personality disturbance" in Princeton Hospital on January 14, 1978. He was buried in Princeton Cemetery.

4-2024 NEVER STOP LEARNING

4-2024 NEVER STOP LEARNING :::

4-2023 What is ISBN ? How does it work ?

Have you ever noticed on the back cover of every book is a barcoded pattern with some numbers ? Ever wondered what could that possibly mean ? According to wikipedia "The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase or receive ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. " It helps librarians and bookstores keep track of books in their custody. The bar code replaces the ISBN for automated inventory control.

The ISBN is structured as in the digram given on the right:

Recently, my new book on Ramanujan got an ISBN: 978-1-5457-5712-3 (shown in the image below).

Also see:: How do barcodes work in the book publishing industry ?

3-2023 La langue la plus bizarre que j'ai apprise !

Le français, que j'adore et je maîtrise bien est pleine de pièges et d'enigmes. Voici quelques exemples ::

Vive la langue !

2-2023 Prophet Muhammad family history

Extracted from : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wives_of_Muhammad Muhammad, the final Islamic prophet, was born and lived in Mecca for the first 53 years of his life (c. 570–632 CE) Prophet Muhammad‘s family included 13 wives, who are referred to as the ‘Mothers of the Believers‘. Although Muslims are limited to having only four wives at a time, Muhammad was exempted from this ruling and was allowed to have an unlimited number of wives. Little is known about the early life of Aisha. Aisha was prophet Muhammad's third and youngest wife. A preponderance of classical sources converge on Aisha being 6 or 7 years old at the time of her marriage, and 9 at the consummation. At the age of 25, Muhammad married his first wife, the widow Khadija bint Khuwaylid. This marriage lasted for 25 years. Prophet Muhammad‘s family included 13 wives, who are referred to as the ‘Mothers of the Believers‘. No. Consort Married 1 Khadijah 595–619 2 Sawdah 619–632 3 Aishah 623–632 4 Hafsah 625–632 5 Umm al-Masakin 625–626 6 Umm Salamah 625–632 7 Zaynab 627–632 8 Juwayriyyah 628–632 9 Umm Habibah 628–632 10 Safiyyah 629–632 11 Maymunah 629–632 12 Rayhanah 627–631 13 Mariah 628–632 The relevant part of his family tree is here.

1-2023 What is semitism (or anti-semitism) ?

Semitism denotes both a race and a language family.The name Semite comes from Shem, the eldest of the three sons of Noah -- Shem, Ham, and Japheth. In the Greek and Latin versions of the Bible, Shem becomes Sem, since neither Greek nor Latin has any way of representing the initial sound of the Hebrew name. In later times, the idea was widely adopted that the three sons of Noah represented the eponymous ancestors of three major racial or linguistic groups. Ham was the ancestor of the dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Shem of the Hebrews and their various cognates, and Japheth the ancestor of the Medes, Persians, Greeks, and other peoples who, many centuries later, came to be known as Aryans. Over the years, "Anti-semitism" gradually transformed into "anti-Hebrew" or "anti-Jew".

4-2021 Ramanujan Prizes in mathematics, from India and more

Srinivasa Ramanujan, the legendary Indian mathematician, has inspired many mathematicians in India and worldwide. It is no surprise that his name is associated with some major prizes and awards in mathematics.

According to
http://www.actforlibraries.org/overview-of-the-ramanujan-prize/,
there are at least two major prizes awarded in mathematics, from India. These are awarded by SASTRA University and ICTP (along with the Gov. of India and IMU).

* SASTRA --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SASTRA_Ramanujan_Prize

* ICTP --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICTP_Ramanujan_Prize

The third, called as "Srinivasa Ramanujan Medal", is awarded by Indian National Science Academy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan_Medal

In addition to the above, Infosys Science Foundation awards prizes in six categories of science, including mathematics :
https://www.infosys-science-foundation.com/prize/index.asp

There are many more awards and prizes for mathematics worldwide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mathematics_awards

3-2021 Do'nt look before you leap !

Sometimes, it is wiser not to look before you leap. Here is the personal experience I had 41 years ago !

That is why they say "fortune favours the bold".

2-2021 This may happen to you, if you are a mathematician taking a flight !

Why should mathematicians avoid flying ?

This may happen to you too .....

Flight attendant: Is there a doctor on board?
Me: Yes, but I'm not that kind of…
Flight attendant: The pilots are arguing about whether there are as many irrational numbers as rational numbers.
Me: Okay. I’m here.

(Based on a Tweet by @LongFormMath, Jay Cummings, 2021-09-28)

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 ?

***