Shoulders of Giants
The Mathematics Genealogy Project keeps a record of the academic genealogy of mathematicians (and almost-mathematicians). I looked up my genealogy and was surprised to find, a few steps up the tree, French and German mathematicians from several centuries ago who are household names today (ok, atleast if your household consists of mathematicians, scientists or engineers):
Perhaps this is a bit premature as I haven't actually got my PhD yet. Still, it's humbling and inspiring to have these giants as academic ancestors.
| me | |||
| | | |||
| my advisor | |||
| | | |||
| : | |||
| : | (six generations) | ||
| : | |||
| | | |||
| Felix Klein | |||
| / | \ | ||
| Julius Plucker | Lipschitz | ||
| | | / | \ | |
| Christian Gerling | Dirichlet | Ohm | |
| | | / | \ | | |
| Carl Gauss | Poisson | Fourier | Langsdorf |
| | | \ | / | |
| Johann Pfaff | Lagrange | ||
| | | | | ||
| Abraham Kaestner | Leonhard Euler | ||
| | | | | ||
| Hausen | Johann Bernoulli | ||
| | | | | ||
| Wichmannshauser | Jacob Bernoulli | ||
| | | | | ||
| Mencke | Gottfried Leibniz | ||
posted by ashvin at 7/24/2005 09:29:00 AM
6 Comments:
In response to Newton's quote:
If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
Hal Abelson is quoted to have said:
If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing on my shoulders.
That's funny. I'd use it if I could claim that there were people (giants or not) standing on my shoulders.
Incidentally, Abelson's textbook was one of the first books I bought in college and it's still lying on my shelf (albeit unopened for several years).
Absolutely, Asvin....
It's a humbling feeling, and also inspires you to do more.
My own ancestry:
Me (worthless grad student who goofs too much)
|
Advisor (member, National Academy of Sciences, giant in field)
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Advisor's post-doc mentor (Nobel Prize in Medicine)
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Advisor's grad school mentor (Nobel Prize in Chemistry)
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Advisor's advisor's advisors (Pioneering chemists, who started what was perhaps the earliest studies in biochemistry...(both cases))
If I ever get to meet Hal Abelson, I'll have to remember to ask him about the giants on his shoulders. . .
Just from watching A Beautiful Mind and Goodwill Hunting, aren't mathematicians kind of crazy?
But Sunil, in the old days they didn't have other important things to do --- like blogging. :)
Mathematicians, crazy ? They'd probably prefer "eccentric".
Then again, there's Theodore Kaczynski PhD (Math, UMich).
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