Erdos numbers

[ewmayer]

Bob, what is the rule for coauthors of people like yourselves who have a fractional Erdos number? E.g. if someone who has never published were to cauthor a paper with you would they get a 4/3+1 or a 2+1?

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

My ex had an Erdos number of 1.

Alas, they're not handing out many of those anymore, are they? (Although it is entirely possibly that still-living former collaborators of Erdos may yet publish papers which include Erdos' name). Let's just say that the club of (Erdos = 1)'s may include a few as-yet-unrealized ones (e.g. someone who did some work with Erdos but has not yet achieved a satisfactory publishable result, or is really slow to publish), but is closed to new candidates. I still hold out hope for a possible future upgrade to a 2, though.

[R.D. Silverman]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

Bob, what is the rule for coauthors of people like yourselves who have a fractional Erdos number? E.g. if someone who has never published were to cauthor a paper with you would they get a 4/3+1 or a 2+1?

Alas, they're not handing out many of those anymore, are they? (Although it is entirely possibly that still-living former collaborators of Erdos may yet publish papers which include Erdos' name). Let's just say that the club of (Erdos = 1)'s may include a few as-yet-unrealized ones (e.g. someone who did some work with Erdos but has not yet achieved a satisfactory publishable result, or is really slow to publish), but is closed to new candidates. I still hold out hope for a possible future upgrade to a 2, though.

They get 2+1. What matters is the length of the path. Only if one
has multiple paths of the same length, is a fraction assigned.....

[mfgoode]

Originally Posted by Numbers

I regret that I am what Paul (Erdos, that is) would have referred to as one of the great un-washed who has never published a math paper. My only connection with the man is that I am (like him) a fervent believer in the efficacy of coffee to the thinking process.

My favourite quote from him is: A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.

For the benefit of beer and hard drinkers and believing in the efficacy of coffee myself as an aid to maths I expand the above by the foll. quotes also by Erdos.
"In Hungary many mathematicians drink strong coffee"
"Madam, I do a mathematician's work and drink a mathematiicians drink" (coffee)
Mally

[mfgoode]

Originally Posted by Zeta-Flux

Mine is 3.

Mine is 0.
However I am intimately acquainted with Erdos thru the excellent biography by Paul Hoffman. Another on my order book of biographies is 'My Brain is Open' by Bruce Schechter at the moment only available in the U.S.
Heres a limerick composed by one of his colleagues.

A conjecture both deep and profound
Is whether the circle is round
In a paper of Erdos (pronounced air dish)
Written in Kurdish
A counterexample is found

When Erdos heard the limerick, he wanted to publish a paper in kurdish but couldnt find a Kurdish math journal!!
Mally

[Raman]

Erdős number

Wagstaff S.S., Jr: 1
Montgomery P: 1
xilman: 2
bdodson: 2
R. D. Silverman: 2
Lenstra AK: 2
Lenstra H: 2
ewmayer: √9
Batalov: 3
jasonp: 3
fivemack: 4
retina: 666
Xyzzy: ∞
Raman: N/A


to be ably, being appropriately enough

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by Raman

Erdős number

xilman: 2

Uncwilly: i

[Batalov]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12466851,10582576

In order to win a lottery, you need to buy a ticket.
Get on a paper or a few to be ably, being appropriately enough, as you aptly put it.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by Batalov

In order to win a lottery, you need to buy a ticket.
Get on a paper or a few to be ably, being appropriately enough, as you aptly put it.

In my professional life I have thought about something that I could write up. I would need to find a co-author and a place to publish.

[Batalov]

Here, I'll try to get an upper estimate for #(jasonp).
His number is at most 4: jasonp - Agarwala R - Lander ES (#2) - Kleitman DJ (#1)

P.S. Could be improved via http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12000841 . Jason?

It is 3. (via Crandall - Pomerance, who could have guessed!? ;-)
There's a useful tool! - http://academic.research.microsoft.c...287699&1112639

[frmky]

bdodson should be appropriately tagged as well.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by frmky

bdodson should be appropriately tagged as well.

AFAIK, Bruce is also 2. I'm sure he'll remind me if he's co-authored with Erdos. He is at most 3, having co-authored with me and a number of my co-authors.