Post #2644279
2026-05-02 15:38 UTC
@ofc1996@mathstodon.xyz I am not sure there is a difference. If someone like that doesn't see a way to attack something, it is (or was) a good indication that a new idea would be needed. I think he wanted the problems to be solved because he was excited to learn a new trick. Obviously, he can't speak for himself sadly…
Replies (1)
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@dimpase@mathstodon.xyz 2026-05-02 17:23
@jonmsterling@mathstodon.xyz @ofc1996@mathstodon.xyz "new" is very subjective. Erdős didn't have many truly new ideas by any normal measure. What can count as one of half a dozen of his truly new idea is the Probabilistic Method https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probabilistic_method Disclaimer: my Erdős number is 2, in two ways (via two different publications and coauthors)