Mathematicians born at the beginning of the year?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the birth months of notable mathematicians, particularly focusing on the observation that many listed in a certain math book were born before April. Participants explore potential patterns, correlations, and implications of this observation, touching on themes of selection bias and the significance of birth months in relation to success in various fields.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that a significant number of mathematicians listed were born before April, citing several examples.
  • Another participant suggests that the observed distribution may not be unusual, as it covers only 33% of the year.
  • A different viewpoint raises the need for a complete list to assess the validity of the observation, comparing it to a limited sample of coin flips.
  • Concerns are raised about the criteria for inclusion on the list of mathematicians, questioning whether it reflects a bias towards those born in spring.
  • One participant mentions a correlation between birth month and success in sports, speculating that similar patterns might exist in mathematics.
  • Another participant provides a list of mathematicians born after April, countering the initial observation.
  • A later reply posits that the shorter duration of the first three months of the year might contribute to the perceived rarity of mathematicians born later, referencing a quote by Dirac.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of curiosity and skepticism regarding the significance of the birth month observation. There is no consensus on whether the pattern is meaningful or merely coincidental, and multiple competing views remain on the implications of the findings.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not resolve the assumptions regarding the completeness of the list of mathematicians or the distribution of birth months in the general population.

1MileCrash
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I was looking through this neat math book I had when I was younger that listed the greatest mathematicians of history. I'm talking old, it's kind of funny because I liked mathematicians when I was younger because my favorite character on Jurassic Park was a mathematician and that's why I asked for the book, heh.

But, I noticed that almost every mathematician listed was born before April.

Bernoulli - Feb
Erdos (not in the book, but I like him.) - March
Euler - April
Grothendieck - March
Gauss - April
Newton - January
Galileo - Feb
Lagrange - Jan
Hilbert - Jan
Poincare - April
Hamming - Feb

On, and on!
 
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1MileCrash said:
I was looking through this neat math book I had when I was younger that listed the greatest mathematicians of history. I'm talking old, it's kind of funny because I liked mathematicians when I was younger because my favorite character on Jurassic Park was a mathematician and that's why I asked for the book, heh.

But, I noticed that almost every mathematician listed was born before April.

Bernoulli - Feb
Erdos (not in the book, but I like him.) - March
Euler - April
Grothendieck - March
Gauss - April
Newton - January
Galileo - Feb
Lagrange - Jan
Hilbert - Jan
Poincare - April
Hamming - Feb

On, and on!

1] That covers 33% of the year, so not all that crazy.

2] We'd have to see the whole list. Who knows, maybe they're organized by month! (If I showed you only my first four flips of a penny, and they were all heads, would that be spooky?)

3] How does that compare with the population at-large? If it's the same then there's no mystery here. Don't assume birth months are evenly spread across the year.

4] Who says the list is a comprehensive one of great mathematicians? By what criteria do they get on the list? Perhaps it was assembled by someone who has a preference for people born in the spring... (or a preference for making up mysteries where there are none.)

5] How young were you? How good is your memory? You remembered what you wanted to remember. Or is there more to this?
 
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I have heard of correlations between success in sports and month of birth. It's generally explained that it's because the kids who are the oldest in their league will tend to be the best and are most likely to be groomed for professional athleticism. Since leagues usually have similar cut-off months, kids born just after the cut-off will tend to be better.

Whether that's true or not, I have no idea. It makes sense, but I've never seen proof. It is possible that month of birth could be connected to success in a certain field, though.
 
I was born in June, Chebyschev in May. :smile:
 
Here are some random people I searched and who were born after april:

Weyl
Mumford
Leibniz
Serre
Deligne
Weil
Tao
Perelman
Tits
Cartan
Leray
Gelfand
Lie
Savage
Hyneman
 
I think there must be something to it. There are only 90.25 days in the first three months. That makes it one of the shortest three month periods on record. I think Dirac summed it up best:
Paul Dirac said:
What is so rare as a day in February? Then, if ever, come perfect Mathematicians.
 

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