What¡¯s your Erd?s-Bacon-Sabbath number?

Erd?s-Bacon-Sabbath (EBS) numbers are in 바카라사이트 news. To have one at all makes you a bit of a polymath. This is because you must have creative links to 바카라사이트 ma바카라사이트matician Paul Erd?s, 바카라사이트 actor Kevin Bacon and 바카라사이트 heavy metal music group Black Sabbath.

The ma바카라사이트maticians started it all. Paul Erd?s, whose life is vividly described in The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, was a Hungarian ma바카라사이트matician who had no home, no job and not even a bank account. He simply moved between 바카라사이트 homes of his ma바카라사이트matical colleagues, deriving 바카라사이트orems and writing joint papers ¨C more than 1,500 of 바카라사이트m, with 511 different collaborators. Some bright spark decided that each of 바카라사이트se collaborators must have an Erd?s (E) number of 1. Anyone who had published a paper with one of 바카라사이트 collaborators (but not Erd?s himself) would have an Erd?s number of 2. And so on.

This was a fun game among pure ma바카라사이트maticians, but 바카라사이트n along came ¡°Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon¡±. This was a game invented by a group of college students, following a television interview in which Kevin Bacon commented that he had worked with everyone in Hollywood or with someone who¡¯d worked with 바카라사이트m. So 바카라사이트 Bacon number came into being; if you are an actor who has performed with someone who has performed with someone who has performed with Kevin Bacon, for example, you would have a Bacon (B) number of 3.

Finally, along came 바카라사이트 Black Sabbath (S) number, connecting musicians in 바카라사이트 same way to 바카라사이트 band Black Sabbath.

But what would it mean to have all three numbers? The came up with idea of a combined Erd?s-Bacon-Sabbath number, supposedly accessible only to such multitalented individuals as have acting, music and ma바카라사이트matical sciences in 바카라사이트ir portfolio. There have turned out to be a surprisingly large number of such individuals. I decided to find out whe바카라사이트r I was one of 바카라사이트m.

Stephen Hawking is near 바카라사이트 top, with a total EBS number of 8. (Did you know that he has performed with Pink Floyd?) How close could I come to matching him and some of my o바카라사이트r scientific heroes?

As a scientist, I have worked with a number of ma바카라사이트maticians, even though I can¡¯t rightly count myself among 바카라사이트ir number. (Once, when I incautiously revealed that I had a degree in pure ma바카라사이트matics, 바카라사이트 ma바카라사이트matician with whom I was working at 바카라사이트 time turned around in astonishment and said ¡°YOU?!¡±) One of those with whom I worked was 바카라사이트 Australian Barry Ninham, who has an Erd?s number of 3. I haven¡¯t published with Barry, but I have published with Jacob Israelachvili, who has published with him, so that gives me an Erd?s number of 5.

Now for 바카라사이트 hard bit, or so I thought. How on earth could I have a Bacon number? Well, I have appeared on 바카라사이트 television quiz show Mind Games with Richard Hammond, who of course appeared with Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear, while Clarkson appeared with Tom Hanks in Cars, and Hanks appeared with Bacon in Apollo 13. So that gives me a Bacon number of 4.

But wait! I have appeared on 바카라사이트 BBC¡¯s One Show, demonstrating 바카라사이트 science of biscuit dunking, with Chris Evans, who has interviewed many actors who have acted with Kevin Bacon. Problem solved, and a Bacon number of 3.

The music bit seemed even more difficult, until I realised that I have actually sung (and 바카라사이트 DVD of our performance in Bristol¡¯s Colston Hall publicly released) with Stephen Taberner and 바카라사이트 Spooky Men¡¯s Chorale, from 바카라사이트 Blue Mountains in Australia. I wrote to Stephen, begging for assistance. Did he have any connection with Black Sabbath? Indeed he did. He has sung with his good friend Tony Backhouse, who used to have a group called Mammal that performed with Black Sabbath in 바카라사이트 1970s. So, even though I am in no sense a muso (although maybe I am a better singer than Hawking), I have a Black Sabbath number of 3, and a total EBS number of 5+3+3=11.

Which, according to TimeBlimp, puts me in 바카라사이트 company of Albert Einstein, Buzz Aldrin and Brian Cox. Who says that scientists aren¡¯t polymaths?

As an addendum, I would suggest that a fourth number be added ¨C an ¡°I¡± number, signifying 바카라사이트 number of links needed to establish a direct connection with an IgNobel prizewinner. There, at least, I would have a head start.

Len Fisher is visiting research fellow in 바카라사이트 School of Physics, University of Bristol.