4 ms·

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers (1998) is a favorite read of mine 25 years later.

• jll29 2y ago
  Reading this obituary, I wonder whether the "Only" in the book title is at all merited if he was so social, collaborative and helpful? - It sounds like he was full of acts of love of others.
  • ajb 2y ago
    Indeed, having read the book, his love for others does come through. Mainly for mathematicians, but then, those were the people he encountered most anyway. He did however completely sacrifice all other pursuits for mathematics. He didn't marry and only had a girlfriend once for a short period. He didn't even have a conventional academic career, only he was so good at mathematics that other mathematicians arranged for him. He didn't bother to learn even many conventional skills: there are several stories of him making a mess because he didn't know stuff like, what dogs eat or how to open a fruit juice carton[1] So I'd say the title is poorly chosen but there is some vague sense in which it could be considered valid. [1] Staying at the house of a colleague, he got up early and made cereal, and thinking that the dogs needed food as well, he dropped handfuls of cereal on the floor for them, which they didn't eat. At another house, not understanding how to open a juice carton, after some thought he decided to stab it with a knife, and left juice everywhere.