My Brain
Is Open
The Mathematical
Journeys of Paul Erdos
Bruce Schechter
- Reader Comments
- Schechter takes you by the hand and walks you through
some stunning yet simple mathematical proofs that are
real eye-openers for a layman like myself. He doesn't
just talk about math, though. For example, one chapter
has Paul Erdos explaining a simple proof to the
non-math-literate wife of a colleague. You get to see the
proof (which was nifty) as well as the way Erdos
interacted on a human level. It's the kind of thing this
biography does fantastically well, i.e., math in a
thoroughly human context. Erdos is a very charming and
unusual person who comes alive along with the math. The
book is written in stories, anecdotes, and observations
about math in general and Erdos's contribution in
particular. It could be understood by a tenth grader who
is bad at math but it's still written in an adult and
intelligent tone, not one that talks down to the reader.
One of the best popular math or science books I have ever
read. I liked it better than Gleick's book, Chaos, and
Gleick's bio of Feynman (though these were also very fine
books, in my opinion).
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