The discussion revolves around the concept of mathematical ancestry and whether participants can trace their academic lineage to one of the 24 scientific families identified in a referenced article. The scope includes personal anecdotes, reflections on mathematical talent, and the process of exploring mathematical genealogy.
Participants do not reach a consensus on their connections to the 24 families, with some claiming lineage while others do not. There is a mix of personal experiences and challenges in tracing ancestry, indicating a lack of agreement on the ease of this process.
Some participants note limitations in their ability to trace lineage due to the structure of the genealogy database and the complexity of academic relationships.
fresh_42 said:How did you handle this site? I've gone to the mentor (PhD in 1959) of mine who is in the database, but haven't found any way to go further.
The calculation of another popular "math ancestry" was far easier.
Thank you. I ended up with Friedrich Leibniz (advisor of Gottfried Leibniz) which is funny because I've attended a Leibniz-school.micromass said:You go to the math genealogy database. Then you go to the name in question and keep clicking "advisor". Once you can't go further, I think you've reached the family starter.
fresh_42 said:Thank you. I ended up with Friedrich Leibniz (advisor of Gottfried Leibniz) which is funny because I've attended a Leibniz-school.
The way there has read as a who-is-who in 16th - 19th century.
Fourth? Lol, another coincidence. I'll have to review my strict rejection of superstitions and numerology. I really hope nobody will create a database that goes even deeper. I'd probably end up at Pythagoras. And I don't like him because of his numerology. At least easy to remember as long as I don't forget my school.micromass said:That's the fourth largest family. Nice.