Fan Chung, who has an Erdős number of 1, discusses the importance of connection — both human and mathematical.In 1971, Fan Chung(opens a new tab), then in her second year of graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, received an assignment. Her thesis adviser, Herbert Wilf, asked her to read the proof of a problem in Ramsey theory, an area of mathematics that explores the inevitable emergence of patterns in networks of vertices and edges called graphs. They planned to discuss it again the following week.But a week later, Chung had done far more than just read the proof. To Wilf’s surprise, she claimed that she had also figured out a way to improve it — to prove a better estimate for the problem. “He was so pleased,” she said. More than 50 years later, no one has managed to improve on her result.Chung grew up in Taiwan in the 1950s and ’60s, and enjoyed math as a young child. Her father, an engineer, encouraged her interest, telling her that “mathematics gives you power” — the power to understand chemistry, physics and other aspects of the world.
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