Talk:List of amateur mathematicians

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Untitled[edit]

I removed George Padamadan since he was an amateur philosopher, not an amatuer mathematician. I'm also leaving the likes of Fermat off, since if you go back far enough most of them are amatuers. The latter half of the 19th century seems far enough. User: Gene Ward Smith

Are Heegner and Garfield really comparable??? The former proved a famous, important long-standing conjecture of Gauss; the latter is only known for coming up with another of hundreds of proofs of Pythagorean theorem (that I am aware of), more curiosity compared to Heegner.

I submit that this list would be a lot more useful if it summarised their contribution to mathematics. - Just zis  Guy, you know? [T]/[C] (W) AfD? 23:21, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]


Shouldn't Ramanujan be considered an amateur? If i read the article correctly he never got an academic degree because he never passed high school, please correct me if i'm wrong.

Ramanujan has indeed been added as he totally fits. He was an obsessed college drop-out.. See his article.--Oracleofottawa (talk) 07:22, 7 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, he attended Government College in Kumbakonam in 1904 and even won a scholarship, but failed exams in subjects other than math. After he went to England in 1914 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society and later Trinity College. He was a professionally a research mathematician from 1914 on. The years from 1904 to 1914 were tough for him though.

Summaries[edit]

I agree with Just zis  Guy, you know? that summaries would be useful here. What has Richard Pryor done as a mathematician? CRGreathouse (talk | contribs) 08:29, 16 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Leon Bankoff ??[edit]

Maybe? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.49.110.120 (talk) 06:38, 3 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Leon Bankoff has been added and is perfect for the list... there are more out their and I will find them all! (And I freakin well will...)--Oracleofottawa (talk) 07:19, 7 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

should work through the list[edit]

Kathleen Ollerenshaw seems to have worked as lecturer, according to the wikipedia bio. I cannot find any mathematical contribution by Alex Wong, and his pages seem to be down. 130.75.46.5 (talk) 18:30, 12 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Kathleen Ollerenshaw is an Oxford math graduate and a doctor! and a rather grand old girl....--Oracleofottawa (talk) 07:17, 7 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Alex Wong has been given the gong.--Oracleofottawa (talk) 04:26, 12 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Done and done[edit]

After going through every article in the List of mathematicians this is the result. What struck me is the number of names that I remember from high school and college! Some of these names I was quite shocked to see that they never saw the inside of a university! I put it down to proof that cream rises to the top. Also if you have an idea keep at it.--Oracleofottawa (talk) 03:01, 23 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Listing by century[edit]

The article would be better if the list was broken down by century, each person to the date of his/her birth.--109.124.131.251 (talk) 11:10, 14 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I came here to suggest the same thing Weburbia (talk) 18:06, 4 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

See also list?[edit]

I don't see what the role of the "See also" list is. The people on it seem to be in some respects interesting and unusual, but not to be amateur mathematicians. I didn't check all of them, but I assume that if they were actual amateur mathematicians, they would be on the main list. I would remove the list. Ctourneur (talk) 05:20, 8 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. Some of the entries are also a bit dubious in my opinion. They don't seem to distinguish carefully between someone who makes a living doing something else and does mathematics as a hobby (an amateur) from someone who has little or no formal education in mathematics but nevertheless makes a living doing something mathematical (not an amateur). —David Eppstein (talk) 05:33, 8 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I have removed it. If someone feels that it should be restored, I have no objection in principle, but I think it should be clarified what the list is supposed to be listing.Ctourneur (talk) 01:32, 24 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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What about Kenneth Keeler, does he fit?[edit]

If we're allowed Danica McKellar on this list, then why also not Ken Keeler? Both have seen the inside of a university, the former even having an Erdos number of 4, and both have careers in showbiz. Is the fact that Keeler got a PhD in maths make him a professional? --Matt Westwood 22:03, 17 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Table instead[edit]

I'm creating one based on this list. Columns are, in order:

  • Portrait
  • Name
  • Vocation
  • Birth
  • Death
  • Nationality

Sandbox-article here. Notes are in Talk-page there

Jontajonta (talk) 16:45, 4 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

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