[Erdos] is in the abstract field of mathematics and is purely a mathematician with typical atmospheric mind as related to factual things, that is, he is of the genius type who lives within his mental scope, and that it is difficult to know him personally.”More in this recent video. Apparently they wondered why he avoided national loyalties, and how he has good ties in Communist countries.
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Typical Atmospheric Mind
FBI assessment of Paul Erdos:
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Roger,
ReplyDeleteErdos was born in Budapest. He was Magyar. Of course the man had friends in communist countries, as Hungary was behind the iron curtain in Eastern Europe for quite some time (1945-1991), largely because of a feckless American president. Geography has a lot to do with who you know and associate with, especially culturally.
If you want an evil Hungarian to be pissed off at for some very good reasons, try George Soros on for size. The man is behind many deaths in our country through his corrupt influences in our legal system. The man blathers about socialism and funds their causes all day long while living as a billionaire oligarch built on other's misery. I'm also surprised Israel lets him continue breathing considering how Mr. Soros 'aquired' his early fortune.
One thing that's unsaid in all of that is that Erdos was an abuser of amphetamines. So that definitely colored his demeanor and behavior quite a bit. That being said he really was a legitimately brilliant mathematician. I think his most notable achievement (shared with Atle Selberg) was an elementary proof of the prime number theorem. Elementary in this context means "without the use of complex analysis". It really is was quite an achievement.
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