3 ms·

We should throw Galois in there as well.

pixelpoet 6y ago
A small and incomplete list of mathematical tragedies (by wiki articles) I keep, to which I'll add Frank Ramsey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_G%C3%B6del https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_G%C3%B6del https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James_Sidis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James_Sidis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89variste_Galois https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89variste_Galois https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Henrik_Abel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Henrik_Abel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing
- agumonkey 6y ago
  Why is Grothendieck a tragedy ? his departure to reclusion ?
  - pixelpoet 6y ago
    Good question, maybe he shouldn't be on that list. I'd read a long biography about him in German ("Wer ist Alexander Grothendieck?"), and was left with the impression that he was unfulfilled and unhappy at the end of his career; of course he lived to old age and there were certainly worse fates on that list, so perhaps its inclusion is not so appropriate.
    - agumonkey 6y ago
      I'd tend to think that he's not a tragic figure. Maybe dramatic in a way. But since he had a full life and even free choice to do it on its own term.. In any case I hope you didn't feel attacked. It was half curiosity half critic :)
- jnbiche 6y ago
  In terms of a metric akin to "mathematical DALYs", Galois was perhaps the most impactful early death of all, followed by Abel. Both Galois and Abel founded entire branches of mathematics before the age of 25.
  - renewiltord 6y ago
    QALYs, surely? :) Dying early would boost DALY count.
    - jnbiche 6y ago
      No, it wouldn't. They both account for years of early death, just in different ways.
- hetspookjee 6y ago
  Blaise Pascal should be in the list as well! Death at 39. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal

A small and incomplete list of mathematical tragedies (by wiki articles) I keep, to which I'll add Frank Ramsey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_G%C3%B6del https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_G%C3%B6del https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James_Sidis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James_Sidis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89variste_Galois https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89variste_Galois https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Henrik_Abel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Henrik_Abel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

agumonkey 6y ago
Why is Grothendieck a tragedy ? his departure to reclusion ?
- pixelpoet 6y ago
  Good question, maybe he shouldn't be on that list. I'd read a long biography about him in German ("Wer ist Alexander Grothendieck?"), and was left with the impression that he was unfulfilled and unhappy at the end of his career; of course he lived to old age and there were certainly worse fates on that list, so perhaps its inclusion is not so appropriate.
  - agumonkey 6y ago
    I'd tend to think that he's not a tragic figure. Maybe dramatic in a way. But since he had a full life and even free choice to do it on its own term.. In any case I hope you didn't feel attacked. It was half curiosity half critic :)
jnbiche 6y ago
In terms of a metric akin to "mathematical DALYs", Galois was perhaps the most impactful early death of all, followed by Abel. Both Galois and Abel founded entire branches of mathematics before the age of 25.
- renewiltord 6y ago
  QALYs, surely? :) Dying early would boost DALY count.
  - jnbiche 6y ago
    No, it wouldn't. They both account for years of early death, just in different ways.
hetspookjee 6y ago
Blaise Pascal should be in the list as well! Death at 39. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal