David Friggens - Erdös Number
About Erdös Numbers
Paul Erdös[*] (1913-1996) was the most prolific mathematician of the 20th Century, with over 1500 publications. Erdös numbers are similar to other "degrees of separation" endeavors, and assign a rank based on academic collaboration.
Paul Erdös has an Erdös Number of 0, his coauthors have a number of 1, their coauthors have a number of 2, etc. Everyone else has an Erdös Number of infinity.
[*]The o should not be an umlaut, but a Hungarian umlaut (dashes instead of dots). The correct pronunciation of his name is close to "air dish".
Number 4
My Erdös Number is at most 4, via a number of alternative paths (with the first year of collaboration):
- Paul ERDÖS (1972) Saharon SHELAH (1993) Ian HODKINSON (2003) Robert GOLDBLATT (2006) David FRIGGENS
- Paul ERDÖS (1943) Alfred TARSKI (1981) Hajnal ANDRÉKA / István NÉMETI (1998) Robert GOLDBLATT (2006) David FRIGGENS
- Paul ERDÖS (1991) Endre MAKAI (1979) Hajnal ANDRÉKA / István NÉMETI (1998) Robert GOLDBLATT (2006) David FRIGGENS
- Paul ERDÖS (1958) András HAJNAL (1979) István NÉMETI (1998) Robert GOLDBLATT (2006) David FRIGGENS
Pair Number 6
There is a more restricted definition that only counts collaborations with exactly two coauthors (which was Erdös's preference). I still manage a finite number under this definition via the paths:
- Paul ERDÖS (1972) Vasek CHVÁTAL (1973) Jirí SICHLER (1985) Don PIGOZZI (1993) Antonino SALIBRA (1999) Robert GOLDBLATT (2006) David FRIGGENS
- Paul ERDÖS (1957) Solomon MARCUS (1988) Gheorghe PAUN (1998) Vincenzo MANCA (1984) Antonino SALIBRA (1999) Robert GOLDBLATT (2006) David FRIGGENS
Further Reference
- The Erdös Number Project, Oakland University.
- The AMS MathSciNet database.
- The MacTutor biography of Erdös.
- Bruce Schechter. My Brain is Open: The mathematical journeys of Paul Erdös. Touchstone, New York, 1998.
- Paul Hoffman. The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The story of Paul Erdös and the search for mathematical truth. Hyperion, New York, 1998.
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