Sunday, September 24, 2017

Vintage Erdös


In 1953, Paul Erdös was invited to spend a year teaching at the University of Notre Dame. In his volume, “My Brain Is Open” Bruce Schechter relays the following story:
“Erdös was an avowed atheist, and his friends at Notre Dame enjoyed teasing him about his working at a Roman Catholic university. ‘He said in all seriousness that he liked being there very much,’ Melvin Henriksen, a colleague from those days, recalled, ‘and especially enjoyed discussions with the [priests].’ Only one thing bothered him. ‘There were too many plus signs,’ he irreverently remarked."

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