March 31, 2008

I haven't posted for almost four weeks. Here are some updates.

There was a prime number fashion show on March 12th. You can see some documentation here. I would highly recommend that you start this video in the middle: 6.30 or 7 minutes in. There were two shows, and I like the documentation of the second better than that of the first. In time, I will edit the video down so that you don't have to start in the middle.

For the past three weeks I have been working on my final report for the Fulbright scholarship. I am writing about the way in which Paul Erdos has been remembered in popular literature (such as The Man Who Loved Only Numbers) and in less accessible literature (such as Paul Erdos and his Mathematics). I have learned about the Hungarian filmmaker named Kardos Istvan who has created biographical sketches about more than 70 scientists and mathematicians, including Paul Erdos and many other significant figures. I have obtained a copy of the Paul Erdos sketch, which is about 50 minutes long. There may already be an English version of the film, but if there is not then I will organize a translation of it.

There are many interesting differences between the accounts of Erdos by his collaborators and that contained in The Man Who Loved Only Numbers. The title of the latter is representative of the larger conflation of facts: Erdos was not only a mathematical genius, but also a compassionate and caring human being interested in the lives of his collaborators and their families. He studied biology, history, and politics, and it is said that he could tell you more about the history of your own country than you could. I believe that The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is not meant to overlook Erdos' generous and kind character, but unfortunately his eccentricities are accentuated to the point where they overshadow his humanitarianism.

Once I learned about this story, I hoped to make a documentary about it. But a few things stood in my way. First off, some of the professors that I talked to didn't seem interested in being in the film. They had already been asked about him a lot, and one professor told me simply, 'I've said everything that I wanted to say.' This disappointed me at first - or rather I was disappointed by it - but then I realized the wisdom in their stance. I would be yet another American trying to represent Erdos. Or, now that he's dead, I would be making representations of people's ideas about Erdos. It seemed like I might just be adding misrepresentation to the fire.

One of the professors told me about an existing film interview of Erdos that was done in Hungarian. I did a little investigating and found that there is no English translation of this piece. I watched the piece with a translator and was pleased. The film has a distinctly Hungarian style: slow pacing, simple shots, and even long moments of silence (which are rare in many American films). The filmmaker asks Erdos questions and waits for him to mull over the answers to express his opinion. This is distinct from the other film about him, 'N is a Number', which has a more retrospective flavor.

I am working on translating this video into the English. I do not know Hungarian well enough to take this challenge solo. So I'm asking Hungarian friends to help me out. How many hours do you think it takes to translate a 50 minute movie? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? And then the turtle would say, 'Three,' after biting in.

My report also includes a wandering description of the various films that I've created over the past seven months. Many things are in production and post-production, and I wish I could turn in a paper at the end of May that had a more complete version of my project. But I guess it doesn't matter that much what I write down... It's just what I produce.. the films/videos.

I am getting hungary now, it's almost 8pm. Perhaps I will make a list of projects that I'm working on in the next post. There seem to be an infinite number of them, or else they just seem to grow and multiply.

p.s. You're probably wondering what I've been reading lately. I just finished 'An American Childhood' by Annie Dillard. I loved it. A personal story about childhood. It makes me realize how important it is to make things wholeheartedly and with passion. Things can be trivial if you make them that way, or you can delve into their beauty and importance. Before that I read some of 'The Better of McSweeney's', then 'The Audacity of Hope' by Barack Obama, then before that 'The Great Turning'. Obama's book is well written and clear. I like most of his ideas, though I don't always agree with him. I have great respect for his clear and thoughtful way of going about politics. He talks honestly about the good and the difficult, and I admire that. I will probably vote for him, come November.