N Is a Number: Portrait of Paul Erdos

I can say I thought it was well done. I came away feeling as a picture in greys would give when the colors of the man was desired.

I'd heard Erdos name come up several times in discussions of mathematics but had no real idea who he was until I bought this fascinating DVD. If ever there was a man who could just float through life on the strength of his intellect alone Erdos is he. He is by turns amusing, gentle, simple but undeniably brilliant and driven. A remarkable portrait of a remarkable man, compelling whether or not you care about math.

A fascinating bio film on the eccentric but lovably Paul Erdos, A Hungarian born prodigy in mathematics. This story captures the lives he touched and influences that he had on so many other mathematicians that collaborated with him. He published so many papers in professional journals, not sure if he exceeded Leonard Euler. Love this Guy!

I have read this book 4 X already and have distributed it widely.This is my highest recommendation: if I die tomorrow, this will be the best book I have ever read.

Highly recommendable. Great documentary about life and work of this amazing mathematician. It could be better with subtitles in different languages.

I purchased this, thinking it was a biography of Paul Erdos. It's actually a nine page synopsis of a film of the same name.I've since asked for a refund.

Paul Erdos, a Hungarian mathematician, didn't write any bestsellers, was not well known in his lifetime outside mathematical circles, and had no fixed address. And yet, there are two popular biographies of him written for a general, non-mathematical readership, as well as this excellent documentary.Erdos did not have any one or two major discoveries or mathematical accomplishments in his career -- he is known for the quantity and consistent quality of his work. And he is known for having treated mathematics as a team sport all his life. He worked with so many people over the years, publishing so many joint scientific papers that math people talk of an Erdos Number. Erdos's own number is zero, and anyone who co-wrote a paper with him has an Erdos Number of 1, and anyone who has written a paper with someone who wrote a paper with Erdos has an Erdos Number of 2, and so on. Apparently nearly everyone in the math world has an Erdos Number of at most 3, simply because Erdos wrote so many papers with so many different people.Once Erdos's mother died, when Erdos was middle-aged, he started visiting friends and colleagues all over the world, staying with each for a few days or a few weeks, with no permanent home and no steady job. He guest lectured often and published more often. He had few needs and all his belongings fit in a single suitcase.An eccentric, but appealing character, Erdos was born in 1913, so it's time to recall his life on what would be his 100th birthday. This one hour documentary is a fine place to start, then follow up with two good books,  The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth  and  MY BRAIN IS OPEN: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos .

This is a fascinating book about Paul Erdos. He is the Einstein of modern mathematics and very eccentric. He is my personal favorite math god.This book is about him, it is not about his mathematics. One would need a PhD in mathematics to understand and appreciate his awesome and prolific work. If anyone out there has used copy of his book in any condition, I would like to buy it. carol3y at yahoo dot comEnjoy reading it if you can find a copy!!

To me personally, the video was very interesting. However, the video does not represent itself as the life of Erdos. All the material is very interseting but it is by no menas complete and not always all that relevant. It does show mr Erdos and gives you some idea on what kind of person this was.