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Paul Erdős
14 quotes
“I think that, as , a very clever young Israeli mathematician, once said, "I am an opportunist. I do what I can do." If there is anything in number theory that I can do, I certainly do it. But you see some of the problems in number theory are enormously difficult and many of these classic problems are very, very hard to make any progress in.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm not competent to judge. But no doubt he was a great man.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Response to a question by an agent of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1954 as to what he thought of Karl Marx, often cited as an indication of his detachment from political sensibilities and the situati…
“Another roof, another proof.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: His motto, as he roamed about the world, as the guest of other mathematicians, as quoted in A Tribute to Paul Erdős (1990) edited by Alan Baker, Béla Bollobás, A. Hajnal, Preface, p. ix
“Suppose aliens invade the earth and threaten to obliterate it in a year's time unless human beings can find the Ramsey number for red five and blue five. We could marshal the world's best minds and fastest computers, and within a year we could probably calculate the value. If the aliens demanded the Ramsey number for red six and blue six, however, we would have no choice but to launch a preemptive attack.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Ramsey Theory" by Ronald L. Graham and Joel H. Spencer, in Scientific American (July 1990), p. 112-117
“Television is something the Russians invented to destroy American education.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Comic Sections : The Book of Mathematical Jokes, Humour, Wit, and Wisdom (1993) by Des MacHale
“The SF created us to enjoy our suffering. … The sooner we die, the sooner we defy His plans.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: SF was an abbreviation for "Supreme Fascist" — the term Erdős often used to refer to God, as quoted in The Man Who Loved Only Numbers : The Story of Paul Erdős and the Search for Mathematical Truth (1998) by Paul Hoffma…
“Some French socialist said that private property was theft … I say that private property is a nuisance.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Referring to a famous statement by the French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon that "Property is theft!", as quoted in The Man Who Loved Only Numbers (1998) by Paul Hoffman, p. 7
“My brain is open!”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A standard greeting he would make when he was not contemplating some mathematical problem, as quoted in My Brain Is Open : The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos (1998) by Bruce Schechter, p. 10
“If numbers aren't beautiful, I don't know what is.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Frequent remark, as quoted in My Brain Is Open : The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos (1998) by Bruce Schechter, p. 14
“It is not enough to be in the right place at the right time. You should also have an open mind at the right time.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: My Brain Is Open : The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos (1998) by Bruce Schechter, p. 99
“Végre nem butulok tovább”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A suggestion for his own epitaph, as quoted in Variety in Religion and Science: Daily Reflections (2005) by Varadaraja Raman, p. 256
“We'll continue tomorrow — if I live.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Common remark when breaking off work for the night, as quoted in "The Magician of Budapest" in The Edge of the Universe : Celebrating Ten Years of Math Horizons (2007) by Deanna Haunsperger and Stephen Kennedy, p. 111
“This one's from the Book!”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Said in regard to any particularly beautiful or elegant proof, referring to a mythical "book" in which God wrote the proofs for all theorems, as quoted in Philosophy of Mathematics (2008) by John Francis, p. 51
“SF means Supreme Fascist — this would show that God is bad. I don't claim that this is correct, or that God exists, but it is just sort of half a joke. … As a joke I said, "What is the purpose of Life?" "Proof and conjecture, and keep the SF's score low." Now, the game with the SF is defined as follows: If you do something bad the SF gets at least two points. If you don't do something good which you could have done, the SF gets at least one point. And if nothing — if you are okay, then no one gets any point. And the aim is to keep the SF's score low.”
Paul Erdős (1913–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source