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Another year gone...

Sat, 25/06/2011 - 9:57am — Irisha

Turns out that I have an Erdos number of 5. Ironically, this is not due to my contribution to mathematics, but because of our paper on MRSA incidence, where I am author number 6.

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Imagine: it's Friday of week 8, 10.30pm. A tutor bumps into two finalists who are walking down the city centre. And where do you think they are walking from? An art exhibition! The tutor, on the other hand, had just been out drinking at yet another schools dinner. O tempora o mores. 

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В разговоре оказалось, что не пригласили меня на выпускной ужин в Хильду, потому что выпускной никто не организовал. Вот серьёзно, первый раз о таком слышу. С одной стороны деток жалко, с другой стороны в очередной раз подумалось что правильно я сделала что ушла. Грустно на самом деле. Грустно, что после девяти лет мы расстались на такой ноте, и что кроме студентов (и нескольких замечательных друзей конечно) нет никаких приятных ассоциаций. Ведь даже диплом вручали в другом месте, и причём устроили такой приём, который от родного колледжа я бы в жизни не получила. 

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Sat, 25/06/2011 - 12:04pm — imarek

I've wondered on occasions

I've wondered on occasions what the highest finite Erdős number is. I suspect if you only count papers listed on mathscinet (to exclude long chains involving physicists, chemists, etc.), it won't be much more than 5. However, the paper you refer to probably isn't on mathscinet. :-)
Sat, 25/06/2011 - 11:36pm — arda_unmarred (not verified)

'Remember, the distribution

'Remember, the distribution of Erdös numbers is such that almost every mathematician with a finite Erdös number has a number of less than 8 — only about 2% are higher, and none is more than 15. See our “facts page” for more details. People in other sciences or even social sciences may also have small Erdös numbers. My brother (a physician with only one publication) has an Erdös number of at most 9. An author in the MathSciNet database, Mutt, is a computer with an Erdös number of 2. We’ve even heard about a horse who claimed to have an Erdös number of 3. For more on the whimsical side of this (after all, what you want to count as a joint publication is a matter of subjective judgment), see also this site, which carries it to a ridiculous extreme. And by all means, check out this cartoon. On a related note, in the spring of 2004, a consultant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who has an Erdös number of 4 auctioned off his services on eBay, advertising that the winner would obtain Erdös number 5 upon successful completion of work leading to a publication. For further information on this, see William Tozier’s article in Science News.' http://www.oakland.edu/enp/compute/
Sun, 26/06/2011 - 11:23am — imarek

Very interesting - I didn't

Very interesting - I didn't expect the mean Erdős number to be as high as 4.65. And the cartoon is very funny, yes.
Sun, 26/06/2011 - 8:32am — Irisha

Haha, lovely cartoon :) on a

Haha, lovely cartoon :) on a separate note, if you login first, your comments will be published immediately; if you only leave your name (without signing in), they need to be approved by us first. do you get an email when someone replies to your post?
Sat, 25/06/2011 - 3:54pm — Irisha

It isn't, no, which is why I

It isn't, no, which is why I was so amused when a colleague told me it generated an Erdos number! In my only mathscinet paper I am the sole author.
Sat, 25/06/2011 - 11:46am — arda_unmarred (not verified)

It seems that I have

It seems that I have (somehow) an Erdos number of 3 (Erdos to Conway to Benson to Mikaelian). Not sure how this happened. And all those cards in your office - weren't they from SHI?
Sat, 25/06/2011 - 3:51pm — Irisha

Ну вот, побил меня :) А может

Ну вот, побил меня :) А может и у Ани есть (finite) Erdos number? А открытки в моей комнате действительно в основном оттуда, и в основном прошлогодние. Но они как раз и есть от студентов, а тьюторы на мою прощальную встречу даже не пришли, что в общем-то тоже подтверждает то о чём я писала.