Did Amphetamines Help Erdős?
The article explores whether amphetamines contributed to the productivity of mathematician Paul Erdős. It analyzes his publication record before and after he began using the drug in 1971, noting a significant increase in productivity post-1971. However, the author emphasizes that correlation does not imply causation and that other factors may have influenced Erdős's work.
- ▪Paul Erdős began using amphetamines in 1971, and his publication productivity increased significantly afterward.
- ▪Statistical analysis shows that Erdős produced more papers per year after starting amphetamine use compared to before.
- ▪Despite the increase in productivity, the article cautions against drawing firm conclusions about the effects of amphetamines on his work.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Did amphetamines help Erdős? During my work on the Paris talk I began to wonder whether Paul Erdős (who I used as an example of a respected academic who used cognitive enhancers) could actually have been shown to have benefited from his amphetamine use, which began in 1971 according to Hill (2004). One way of investigating is his publication record: how many papers did he produce per year before or after 1971? Here is a plot, based on Jerrold Grossman’s 2010 bibliography: Productivity of Paul Erdos over his life. Green dashed line: amphetamine use, red dashed line: death. Crosses mark named concepts. The green dashed line is the start of amphetamine use, and the red dashed life is the date of death.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Aleph.
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