1. Two Mathematicians and a Lie Nathan Lopez Math and Snacks MSCS at UIC March 2, 2015

2. Oswald Teichmüller Born June 18, 1913 in Nordhausen, Germany Born June 18, 1913 in Nordhausen, Germany Child prodigy by age three Child prodigy by age three Earned his doctorate from the Earned his doctorate from the University of Göttingen “Geometric Function Theory” “Geometric Function Theory” “Teichmüller Theory” “Teichmüller Theory”

3. WWII and the Nazi Party Joined the Nazi party the same year he enrolled at Göttingen Joined the Nazi party the same year he enrolled at Göttingen Organized a boycott against a Jewish professor Organized a boycott against a Jewish professor Chose his thesis advisor ideologically Chose his thesis advisor ideologically Deutsche Mathematik (German Mathematics) Deutsche Mathematik (German Mathematics) Participated in the invasion of Norway Participated in the invasion of Norway Died on the Russian Front Lines Died on the Russian Front Lines

4. Theodore Kaczynski Born May 22, 1942 in Evergreen Park, Illinois Born May 22, 1942 in Evergreen Park, Illinois IQ of 167 in 5 th grade; skipped 6 th, 11 th, and 12 th IQ of 167 in 5 th grade; skipped 6 th, 11 th, and 12 th Harvard (undergrad) at age 16, top of the class Harvard (undergrad) at age 16, top of the class Project MKUltra Project MKUltra Univ. of Michigan (grad) at age 20 Univ. of Michigan (grad) at age 20 UC Berkeley (assistant professor) UC Berkeley (assistant professor) at 25, youngest ever hired

5. Boundary Functions His doctoral thesis concerned ‘curvilinear points’ His doctoral thesis concerned ‘curvilinear points’ Assistant Professor at Berkeley

6. Isolation and Self-Sufficiency In 1971, Kaczynski moved to a cabin in remote Montana In 1971, Kaczynski moved to a cabin in remote Montana Taught himself survival skills, and began to distrust modern industry Taught himself survival skills, and began to distrust modern industry Changed his position from reform to revolution Changed his position from reform to revolution …violent revolution …violent revolution

7. The Terrorist Between 1978-1995, Kaczynski sent 16 homemade bombs around the US Between 1978-1995, Kaczynski sent 16 homemade bombs around the US First package found at UIC First package found at UIC Manifesto published in New York Times and Washington Post Manifesto published in New York Times and Washington Post One of the most expensive FBI operations One of the most expensive FBI operations Eight life sentences with no possibility of parole Eight life sentences with no possibility of parole

8. Paul Erdős Born March 26, 1913 in Budapest Born March 26, 1913 in Budapest By age four, he could calculate how many seconds a person had lived By age four, he could calculate how many seconds a person had lived Earned his doctorate at age 21 from the University of Budapest Earned his doctorate at age 21 from the University of Budapest Died September 20, 1996 Died September 20, 1996 “I’ve finally stopped getting dumber.” “I’ve finally stopped getting dumber.”

9. The Eccentric Vagabond Lived out of a suitcase, and donated his extra money to worthy causes Lived out of a suitcase, and donated his extra money to worthy causes “Another roof, another proof.” “Another roof, another proof.” “My brain is open.” “My brain is open.” Consumed obscene amounts of both coffee and amphetamines Consumed obscene amounts of both coffee and amphetamines Ron Graham and the $500 abstinence bet Ron Graham and the $500 abstinence bet

10. Most Prolific Mathematician 1525 publications 1525 publications 511 collaborators 511 collaborators Offered cash prizes Offered cash prizes Bertrands Postulate Bertrands Postulate “Chebeyshev said it, we’ll say it again: there’s always a prime between N and 2N” “Chebeyshev said it, we’ll say it again: there’s always a prime between N and 2N” Ramsey Theory Ramsey Theory Any party with 6 people has a group of 3 who all know each other or all don’t know each other. Any party with 6 people has a group of 3 who all know each other or all don’t know each other. Moreover, 5 is not enough! Moreover, 5 is not enough!

11. Erdős to English Dictionary The “Supreme Fascist” and “The Book” The “Supreme Fascist” and “The Book” ‘Bosses’ = Women ‘Bosses’ = Women ‘Slaves’ = Men ‘Slaves’ = Men ‘Dead’ = Someone who stops doing math ‘Dead’ = Someone who stops doing math ‘Poison’ = Alcohol ‘Poison’ = Alcohol ‘Noise’ = Music ‘Noise’ = Music ‘To Preach’ = To give a math lecture ‘To Preach’ = To give a math lecture ‘To Torture’ = To give an oral exam ‘To Torture’ = To give an oral exam

12. So Who is the Fake? Oswald Teichmüller Oswald Teichmüller Theodore Kaczynski Theodore Kaczynski Paul Erdős Paul Erdős

13. References http://math.ucsb.edu/~jcs/Erdos.pdf http://math.ucsb.edu/~jcs/Erdos.pdf http://math.ucsb.edu/~jcs/Erdos.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Teichmuller.html http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Teichmuller.html http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Teichmuller.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Teichm%C3%BCller http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Teichm%C3%BCller http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Teichm%C3%BCller http://articles.latimes.com/1996-07-21/news/mn-26363_1_doctoral-dissertation http://articles.latimes.com/1996-07-21/news/mn-26363_1_doctoral-dissertation http://articles.latimes.com/1996-07-21/news/mn-26363_1_doctoral-dissertation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski "RamseyTheory K5 no mono K3" by Original uploader was Richtom80 at en.wikipedia - Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is/was here.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RamseyTheory_K5_no_mono_K3.svg# mediaviewer/File:RamseyTheory_K5_no_mono_K3.svg "RamseyTheory K5 no mono K3" by Original uploader was Richtom80 at en.wikipedia - Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is/was here.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RamseyTheory_K5_no_mono_K3.svg# mediaviewer/File:RamseyTheory_K5_no_mono_K3.svg