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CONTACT:
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Schechter
617-576-6358
bruce@bookbuzz.com
BOOK:
My Brain Is Open: The Mathematical Journeys of
Paul Erdos
Bruce Schechter
Simon &
Schuster
Publication Date: September 1998
SPECIAL:
Much more about Schechter and Erdos, including a fun
article Schechter wrote about Erdos, can be found at http://bookbuzz.com
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 Do A Show About Eccentric Math Genius,
Paul Erdos
Interview Bruce Schechter about
the strange, eccentric personality of Paul Erdos, the 20th Century's
most eccentric math genius, and let this former Disney Imagineer
convey to your audience an enduring sense of the magic of Erdos's
brilliant mind and the way it touched so many
others.
For over fifty years,
mathematicians throughout the world might receive an unexpected
visitor in the middle of the night, Hungarian math genius Paul
Erdos, who had no home of his own and traveled the world with two
small bags holding all his worldly belongings. "My brain is open,"
he would declare, meaning that he wanted to collaborate on math
problems --and that he planned to stay on as a houseguest until
resuming his itinerant journey to the household of another
mathematician. "Another roof, another proof," Erdos, liked to
remark.
Bruce Schechter (who has a
doctorate in physics from MIT) is currently a Knight Fellow Science
Journalist in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A former Disney Imagineer,
Schechter has written about science and math for Discover, Omni,
Reader's Digest, McCalls, Scientific American, Physics Today,
and many other fine magazines. His previous book, The Path of No
Resistance, was published by Simon & Schuster. Schechter has
frequently been a guest on popular radio programs.
Kirkus
Reviews said Schechter's book is a "captivating portrait" which
is "easily grasped by the non-specialist" and which entertainingly
unfolds a "tale to titillate Freudians." Publishers Weekly
said "readers will be engrossed." Rave reviews have also
appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times,
Newsday, The New Scientist, and many other magazines. Reviews
are scheduled to appear in the New York Times and the
Chicago Tribune.
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Who was Erdos and what was his most enduring
legacy? |
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Why did Erdos take so many pills? |
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Did Erdos really love only numbers, as some say,
or did his interests range a good deal wider? |
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What is the "Happy Ending" math problem, and did
the solution to the problem deprive Erdos of his one true
love? |
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What's the "Monty Hall Problem" and should you
change doors when Monty asks? |
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Can average math-phobes begin to understand the
beauty of numbers?
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Why are there so many child prodigies in math
and music, but not in other subjects? |
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Why did Erdos find sexual pleasure to be so
unpleasant? |
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What is "Erdosese" and how did Erdos invent his
own charming language? |
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What is an Erdos number? How is it like
"Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"?
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For more information, go to http://bookbuzz.com.
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