A Different Type of Celebrity

2/29/16

From 1997 to 2003, I was getting a BS in Mathematics and an MS in Statistics. During that time I was a rabid fan of mathematics (still am); reading, writing, learning, consuming, exploring all I could about the subject. The men and women involved in this field, rather than sports players or other entertainers, were my heroes. I wrote to many mathematicians, mathematics expositors, scientists, and skeptics for their autographs and to my delight I received a few back.

Here are some of the ones I have:

John Conway

Underwood Dudley

William Dunham

Martin Gardner

Philip Klass

I also have P.R. Halmos, Clifford Pickover, James Randi, and Paul Zorn, but unfortunately I cannot find these at the moment.

Do yourself a favor and write one of these types of "celebrities" for their autograph and tell them how important ther work is. They might not be as influential like the latest celebrity twerking and posting on Twitter, or a steroid user throwing a ball for meaningless points, but at least their impact is real.