On Fri, 8 Apr 2005 22:29:16 +0800, Bjorn Vang Jensen
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Bob,
>
>Glad you finally received it, and look forward to seeing you again so I
>can get it back :-) All the best to Sue and you from both of us here.

Thx again for loaning me da book.  At this rate, you may get it back
much sooner than I thought you might.

I am almost a third through the book now.  As I waited several hours
in the hospital for the quacks to implant a gas pump in Sue, I read
several more chapters.

The bad news is that the author was ruuning out of tales to tell about
Erdos, and was telling tales about EVERY mathematician I have ever
heard of, whose stories have little or no natural link to Erdos.

The good news is that I picked up a few interesting factoids about
other mathematicians, incluidng Pathegorean -- the fella who
proved that well-known theorem "the squaw on the hippopothemus
is worth the sum of the squaws on the other two hides".

The story was that Pathogorean was a vegetarian who never ate
any BEANS (not for reasons of fatulence) but because the beans
reminded him to much or gonads.

I didn't know THAT!  :-)

In short, I think every eccentric or crazy mathematician will
eventually be introduced in that book.

Lo Yu  (to Mr Nitrox).  :)