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Hank Aaron has an Erdos number of 1
by bitdiddle 17y ago
Hank Aaron has an Erdos number of 1
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- RiderOfGiraffes 17y agoNo, he hasn't. Quoting WikiPedia: It is jokingly said that Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron has an Erdős number of 1 because they both autographed the same baseball when Emory University awarded them honorary degrees on the same day. Erdős numbers have also been humorously assigned to an infant, a horse, and several actors. The fundamental principle underlying the Erdos number is collaboration. If you didn't work together, you don't get the credit. Color me humorless if you like, but I would've thought hackers would care about being accurate and precise.
- bitdiddle 17y agoyes it is jokingly said. The book cited above (The man who knew only numbers") is a great read. It has a picture of Erdos with Aaron receiving honorary degrees. I studied graph theory for a year at MSU with Edgar Palmer in 1981. At the time the proof of the four color conjecture, which was very controversial because it used a computer program (egads!!) was making the rounds. Palmer related many interesting stories about Erdos and also had us work on some of the problems for which Erdos had offered rewards.