Paul Erdös

PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.

A daring robbery of an antique watch collector has been committed. A passing schoolboy becomes a casual witness of a crime and is suspected of complicity. To justify the boy before the law, his friends themselves take up the case…

In an age when genius is a mere commodity, it is useful to look at a person who led a rich life without the traditional trappings of success. A man with no home and no job, Paul Erdös was the most prolific mathematician who ever lived. Born in Hungary in 1913, Erdös wrote and co-authored over 1,500 papers and pioneered several fields in theoretical mathematics. At the age of 83 he still spent most of his time on the road, going from math meeting to math meeting, continually working on problems. He died on September 20, 1996 while attending such a meeting in Warsaw, Poland.

PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.

A daring robbery of an antique watch collector has been committed. A passing schoolboy becomes a casual witness of a crime and is suspected of complicity. To justify the boy before the law, his friends themselves take up the case…