The item you selected is unavailable, but we found something similar.

Picture 1 of 1

Stock photo

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mat.. - Picture 1 of 1

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers : The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth by Paul Hoffman (1998, Hardcover)

5.01 product rating

Pangur Ban Collections (2090)
97.7% positive feedback

Price:

$17.63

+ US $5.99 shipping

Estimated delivery Wed, May 8 - Fri, May 10

Returns:

30 days returns. Buyer pays for return shipping.

Condition:

Brand New

Erdos never tried to dilute his obsessive passion for numbers with ordinary emotional interactions, thus avoiding hurting the people around him, as Nash did. He published almost 1500 scholarly papers before his death in 1996, and he probably thought more about math problems than anyone in history.

About this product

Product Information

Paul Erdos was an amazing and prolific mathematician whose life as a world-wandering numerical nomad was legendary. He published almost 1500 scholarly papers before his death in 1996, and he probably thought more about math problems than anyone in history. Like a traveling salesman offering his thoughts as wares, Erdos would show up on the doorstep of one mathematician or another and announce, "My brain is open." After working through a problem, he'd move on to the next place, the next solution. Hoffman's book, like Sylvia Nasar's biography of John Nash, A Beautiful Mind, reveals a genius's life that transcended the merely quirky. But Erdos's brand of madness was joyful, unlike Nash's despairing schizophrenia. Erdos never tried to dilute his obsessive passion for numbers with ordinary emotional interactions, thus avoiding hurting the people around him, as Nash did. Oliver Sacks writes of Erdos: "A mathematical genius of the first order, Paul Erdos was totally obsessed with his subject--he thought and wrote mathematics for nineteen hours a day until the day he died. He traveled constantly, living out of a plastic bag, and had no interest in food, sex, companionship, art--all that is usually indispensable to a human life."The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is easy to love, despite his strangeness. It's hard not to have affection for someone who referred to children as "epsilons," from the Greek letter used to represent small quantities in mathematics; a man whose epitaph for himself read, "Finally I am becoming stupider no more"; and whose only really necessary tool to do his work was a quiet and open mind. Hoffman, who followed and spoke with Erdos over the last 10 years of his life, introduces us to an undeniably odd, yet pure and joyful, man who loved numbers more than he loved God--whom he referred to as SF, for Supreme Fascist. He was often misunderstood, and he certainly annoyed people sometimes, but Paul Erdos is no doubt missed. --Therese Littleton

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Hyperion Press
ISBN-10
0786863625
ISBN-13
9780786863624
eBay Product ID (ePID)
972712

Product Key Features

Book Title
Man Who Loved only Numbers : the Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth
Author
Paul Hoffman
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Topic
History & Philosophy, Cultural Heritage, Science & Technology
Publication Year
1998
Genre
Biography & Autobiography, Mathematics
Number of Pages
320 Pages

Dimensions

Item Length
8.2in
Item Height
1in
Item Width
5.5in
Weight
17.3 Oz
Item Weight
10.6 Oz

Additional Product Features

Age Range
18
Lc Classification Number
Qa29.E68h64 1998
Publication Date
1998-07-15
Grade from
Eighth Grade
Grade to
College Graduate Student
Copyright Date
1998
Lccn
98-014027
Dewey Decimal
510/.92 B
Intended Audience
Trade
Dewey Edition
21
Illustrated
Yes

All listings for this product

item 1 The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Sea - ACCEPTABLE
$3.87
Last oneFree shipping
item 2 The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search fo - GOOD
$3.87
Free shipping
item 3 The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Math
$4.04
Free shipping
item 4 The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for M...
$4.54
Free shipping
item 5 The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathe
$4.92
Free shipping
item 6 The Man Who Loved Only Numbers : The Story of Paul Erdos and the
$5.76
Last oneFree shipping
item 7 Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos & the Search for...
$6.66
Free shipping

See all 29

5.0

5.0 out of 5 stars based on 1 product rating

1 product rating

1 users rated this 5 out of 5 stars
0 users rated this 4 out of 5 stars
0 users rated this 3 out of 5 stars
0 users rated this 2 out of 5 stars
0 users rated this 1 out of 5 stars

Most relevant reviews

5 out of 5 stars
by cxkJc3UCQ2W@Del...Jan 31, 2011
The Man Who Loved Numbers
Written by an itellegent non-mathematician, we novices can follow it. And if you are a mathematician you will savor it. If you love numbers you will love this book and love this man. If you don't you will learn to if you read this book. If you are just mildly curious about this world we live in and athe people who shaped it, read this book.

Best Selling in Books

See all

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Books

The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies by Claude Davis (2018, Paperback)
4.8 out of 5 stars based on 384 product ratings
$35.59 New
---- Used
The Empyrean Ser.: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (2023, Hardcover)
5.0 out of 5 stars based on 3 product ratings
$15.00 New
$14.17 Used
The 4 Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss (Hardcover, 2010, First Edition)
5.0 out of 5 stars based on 1 product rating
$12.00 New
$9.24 Used
Outlive Gifford Bil (2023,Paperback)
4.8 out of 5 stars based on 8 product ratings
$11.92 New
$8.99 Used
A Court of Thorns and Roses Ser.: A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set (5 Books) by Sarah J. Maas (2022, Trade Paperback)
5.0 out of 5 stars based on 1 product rating
$45.05 New
$7.00 Used
The Women : A Novel by Kristin Hannah (2024, Hardcover)
5.0 out of 5 stars based on 9 product ratings
$17.00 New
$7.99 Used
The Book of Enoch by Enoch (2017, Hardcover)
4.8 out of 5 stars based on 139 product ratings
$16.46 New
$14.97 Used

Save on Books

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Books

Sailor Moon Raisonne ART WORKS 1991 - 2023 Normal Edition 9784065309094
$47.99
Trending at $64.50
😇, 😇DIAGNOSTIC STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERSvTEXT REVISION DSM 5 TR
$36.90
Trending at $42.75
If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer by The Goldman Family (English) Paperback
$17.69
Trending at $17.95
THE BOOK OF ENOCH - Translated by R. H Charles (1917 Translation, Hardback)
$14.25
Trending at $16.46
Magic Tree House Books 1-31 Boxed Set by Mary Pope Osborne New- Wrapper Is Torn
$28.00
Trending at $39.95
Trading in the Zone: Master the Market Confidence (PAPERBACK) free shipping
$9.25
Trending at $13.74