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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1998
> August
> August 7, 1998:
Hour Two: Strange Scientists
You all know the stereotypes - the "absent-minded professor," the "mad scientist," the "crazy inventor." Of course, the Science Friday staff knows that they're just stereotypes - most of the scientists we deal with are perfectly normal, nice people. But you've got to admit that there are a few unusual science types out there... | Take Nikola Tesla, a brilliant inventor and electrical engineer who discovered the principles that form the basis for alternating current, and who held over 700 patents on his inventions. His work is seen as essential to the development of modern industrial power systems, as well as aspects of radio and television transmission. But at the same time, Tesla had his idiosyncrasies. He had a fear of dirt and germs, and of round objects - especially pearls. On the other hand, he absolutely loved pigeons, and allowed them to come in and out of the rooms in which he lived in various New York hotels. | 
Charge streams from the top of a Tesla Coil.
Image courtesy of Brent Turner | Or take Henry Cavendish, a physicist/chemist of the late 1700's. He established the composition of water, measured the mass and density of the Earth, and more -- but also was afraid to look at or talk to women, and disliked eating anything but mutton. Paul Erdos, a legendary mathematician who died in 1996, was also known for his quirkiness. An expert in number theory, he roamed around the world, staying at various mathematicians' houses, doing mathematics. He had his own language - children were "epsilons," the United States was "Sam," and anyone who had stopped doing mathematics had "died." But he authored over 1500 papers - in fact, connecting yourself to Erdos through people you've written papers with is a parlor game among mathematicians.
Is there some connection between genius and unusual tendencies? Can a little craziness make someone a better scientist? All that and more, on this hour of Science Friday.
Plus: The Perseids are coming! We'll tell you when and where to look for the upcoming meteor shower.
Guests:
Clifford Pickover
Author, "Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives of Eccentric Scientists and Madmen"
"Brain Bogglers" Columnist, Discover Magazine
Research Staff Member
IBM Watson Research Center
Yorktown Heights, NY
Paul Hoffman
Author, "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: the Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth"
Publisher, Senior Vice President
Encyclopedia Britannica
Chicago, IL
Joe Rao
Meteorologist, News 12 Network
Lecturer, Hayden Planetarium
"Skywatch" Columnist, New York Times
Levittown, NY
Books/Articles Discussed:
"Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives of Eccentric Scientists and Madmen" by Clifford Pickover. 1998, Plenum.
"The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: the Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth" by Paul Hoffman. 1998, Hyperion.
Want a free sample of Joe Rao's Skyway Bulletin? Send a long SASE to:
Skyway, Inc.
PO Box 541
Levittown, NY 11756-0541.
Or send email to Skywayinc@aol.com!
Related Links:
The
Erdos Number Project
The International Tesla Society
The Tesla Museum
Brent Turner's Tesla Page
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