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{{Short description|Closeness of someone's association with mathematician Paul Erdős and actor Kevin Bacon}}
A person's '''Erdős-Bacon number''' is the sum of their ] and their ]. To have a finite Erdős-Bacon number, one must therefore have both appeared in a film and co-authored an academic paper.
A person's '''Erdős–Bacon number''' is the sum of one's ]—which measures the "collaborative distance" in authoring academic papers between that person and Hungarian mathematician ]—and one's ]—which represents the number of links, through roles in films, by which the person is separated from American actor ].<ref name=Singh2002>{{cite news |first=Simon |last=Singh |author-link=Simon Singh |title=And the winner tonight is |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/4768389/And-the-winner-tonight-is.html |work=The Telegraph |date=May 1, 2002 |access-date=September 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112081753/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/4768389/And-the-winner-tonight-is.html |archive-date=November 12, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=USAToday20070814>{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20070814/bl_cover14_side.art.htm |title=There's not much separating her from Bacon, Erdos |work=] |date=August 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104060408/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20070814/bl_cover14_side.art.htm |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The lower the number, the closer a person is to Erdős and Bacon, which reflects a ] in academia and entertainment.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/30835 |year=1998 |last1=Collins |first1=James J. |last2=Chow |first2=Carson C. |journal=Nature |volume=393 |issue=6684 |pages=409–10 |pmid=9623993 |title=It's a small world|bibcode=1998Natur.393..409C |s2cid=6827605 }}</ref>


To have a defined Erdős–Bacon number, it is necessary to have both appeared in a film and co-authored an academic paper, although this in and of itself is not sufficient as one's co-authors must have a known chain leading to ], and one's film must have actors eventually leading to ].
For a time, the sole person with the lowest known Erdős-Bacon number was ]. He appeared in '']'' with ], who was in '']'' with ], for a Bacon number of 2. He also wrote a paper with ], who wrote a paper with ], who wrote a paper with Paul Erdős, for an Erdős number of 3 and a combined Erdős-Bacon number of 5.
<!--Paul Erdős has an Erdős–Bacon number of 3, having a Bacon number of 3 and an Erdős number of 0. He appeared in '']'' alongside ], who was in '']''{{dubious|date=March 2018}}--><!--Whatever IMDb might say, I am by no means convinced that renowned mathematician ] took time out to appear in a low-budget horror movie--><!-- (2016) with Dave Johnson,<ref>{{IMDb name |id=nm3083308 |name=Dave Johnson (XXVII)}}</ref> who was in '']'' with ].--><!--Removed until a better/non-OR source is found for Erdős' Bacon number.-->


==Academic scientists==
Brian Greene was later matched by ], mathematical consultant to '']'' who received a minor role on screen in the movie. ] was also in '']'' and in '']'' with Kevin Bacon to give Bayer a Bacon number of 2. Bayer wrote a paper with ], who had an Erdős number of 2 until 2004, when he published a posthumous paper with Paul Erdős. So Bayer's Erdős-Bacon number is now 4.
] has Erdős–Bacon number 3, as he co-authored work with ] in Nature Physics,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Posfai |first=Marton |date=2024 |title=Impact of physicality on network structure |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-023-02267-1 |journal=Nature Physics |volume=20 |pages=142–149}}</ref> who has Erdős number 1, as he coauthored multiple papers with Erdős. Barabási has Bacon number of 1 via the documentary , released in 2008.


] ] has an Erdős–Bacon number of 3. He co-authored papers with Erdős and has a Bacon number of 2 via ] in '']''; Driver and Bacon appeared together in '']''.<ref name="enp1999">{{cite web |url=http://www.acs.oakland.edu/~grossman/Erdoshp.html |title=The Erdös Number Project |first=Jerry |last=Grossman |date=January 27, 1999 |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990203155656/http://www.acs.oakland.edu/~grossman/Erdoshp.html |archive-date=1999-02-03|url-status=dead|access-date=2021-03-03}}</ref>
], most famous for her role as ] in '']'', has an Erdős-Bacon number of 6.


Like Kleitman, mathematician ] has co-authored a paper with Erdős<ref>{{cite journal|title= The asymptotic behavior of a family of sequences |author-last1= Erdős |author-first1= P. |author-last2= Hildebrand |author-first2= A. |author-last3= Odlyzko |author-first3= A. |author-last4= Pudaite |author-first4= P. |author-last5= Reznick |author-first5= B. |author-link5= Bruce Reznick |journal= ] |volume= 126 |year= 1987 |issue= 2 |pages= 227–241|url=https://projecteuclid.org/journals/pacific-journal-of-mathematics/volume-126/issue-2/The-asymptotic-behavior-of-a-family-of-sequences/pjm/1102699802.full}}</ref> and has a Bacon number of 2, via ] in the film '']'' where he appeared as an extra, giving him an Erdős–Bacon number of 3 as well.<ref name="enp2020">{{cite web |url=https://wwwp.oakland.edu/enp/related/ |title=The Erdös Number Project |first=Jerry |last=Grossman |date=December 6, 2018 |publisher=Oakland University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311191235/https://wwwp.oakland.edu/enp/related/ |archive-date=2020-03-11|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-03}}</ref>
], a mathematician at MIT, was an advisor for the movie '']'' and appeared briefly as an uncredited extra. ] appeared in that movie, and she also appeared in '']'' with Kevin Bacon. So Kleitman's Bacon number is 2. On the other hand, he coauthored a paper with Erdős. This gives him an Erdős-Bacon number of 3. This would probably be the ] of the set of all existing Erdős-Bacon numbers (unless Kevin Bacon appears in a movie with an individual having an Erdős number of 1, or co-authors an academic paper with someone with an Erdős number of 1).


Belgian economist ] has an Erdős number of 4,<ref name="ManiquetEBS">{{cite web |title=The Oracle of Bacon |url=http://oracleofbacon.org/cgi-bin/oracle/movielinks?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Fran%C3%A7ois+Maniquet |website=oracleofbacon.org}}</ref> and also a Bacon number of 3 via the 2017 French film ''An Indian Tale'', so that his Erdős–Bacon number is 7.
], a ] player, is sometimes also considered to have an Erdõs-Bacon number of 3, as he and Erdős both autographed a baseball (for which is he jokingly referred to as having Erdős number of 1), and he also appeared in ''Summer Catch'' with ], who was in ''In The Cut'' with Bacon.


Physicist ] has an Erdős number of 2,<ref name="FeynmanEBS" /> and also a Bacon number of 2 via the ] film '']'',<ref name=MetropolisEBS/> giving him an Erdős–Bacon number of 4.
Erdős himself seems to have an undefined Erdős-Bacon number. While his Erdős number is clearly 0, his ] is likely undefined; it was previously believed to be lower due to a conflation of similarly named persons. Similarly, Bacon's Erdős number is likely undefined.


Metropolis and ] both worked on the ] at ]. Via Metropolis, Feynman has an Erdős number of 3 and, from having appeared in the film '']'' alongside ], Feynman also has a Bacon number of 3. Richard Feynman thus has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6.<ref name="FeynmanEBS" />
==External links==


Theoretical physicist ] has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6: his Bacon number of 2 (via his appearance alongside ] in '']'', who acted alongside Kevin Bacon in '']'') is lower than his Erdős number of 4.<ref name="HawkingEBS" />
*
*
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Similarly to Stephen Hawking, scientist ] has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6, also from a Bacon number of 2 and an Erdős number of 4.<ref name=SaganEBS/>
]
]


Mathematician ] has an Erdős number of 3<ref name="ellenberg-erdos">{{cite web|url= https://mathscinet.ams.org/mathscinet/freeTools.html?version=2 |title= MR: Search MSC database |website= ] |quote= MR Erdos Number = 3 Jordan S. Ellenberg coauthored with Christopher M. Skinner MR1844206 Christopher M. Skinner coauthored with Andrew M. Odlyzko MR1210537 Andrew M. Odlyzko coauthored with Paul Erdős1 MR0535395 |access-date= 2022-02-06}}</ref> and a Bacon number of 2 due to a cameo appearance in the film '']'' for which he was also the mathematical consultant.<ref name="ellenberg-bacon">{{cite web|url= http://oracleofbacon.org/movielinks.php?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Jordan+Ellenberg |title=The Oracle of Bacon|website=oracleofbacon.org |access-date=2022-02-14}}</ref>
]

Linguist ] has an Erdős number of 4,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.csauthors.net/distance/noam-chomsky/paul-erdos|title=From Noam Chomsky to Paul Erdős in four papers.|website=csauthors.net}}</ref> he also co-starred with ] in the 2005 documentary ''The Peace!'', giving him a Bacon number of 2<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oracleofbacon.org/movielinks.php?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Noam+Chomsky|title=The Oracle of Bacon|website=oracleofbacon.org}}</ref> and combined Erdős–Bacon number of 6.

==Actors==
], who played ] in '']'', has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6. While an undergraduate at the ], McKellar coauthored a ] paper<ref name="ChayesMcKellar"/> with Lincoln Chayes, who via his wife ]<ref name="ChayesKotecky"/> has an Erdős number of 3, giving McKellar one of 4. Having worked with ], McKellar has a Bacon number of 2.<ref name=USAToday20070814/>

Israeli-American actress ] has an Erdős–Bacon number of 7.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://liquidnarrative.eae.utah.edu/erdos-bacon/|title=MICHAEL'S ERDŐS-BACON NUMBER &#124; The Liquid Narrative Research Group|website=liquidnarrative.eae.utah.edu}}</ref> She collaborated (using her birth name, Natalie Hershlag) with Abigail A. Baird,<ref name="lobe">{{cite journal |doi=10.1006/nimg.2002.1170 |title=Frontal Lobe Activation during Object Permanence: Data from Near-Infrared Spectroscopy |year=2002 |last1=Baird |first1=A |journal=NeuroImage |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=1120–5 |pmid=12202098 |last2=Kagan |first2=J |last3=Gaudette |first3=T |last4=Walz |first4=KA |last5=Hershlag |first5=N |author-link5= Natalie Hershlag |last6=Boas |first6=DA|s2cid=15630444 }}</ref> who has a collaboration path<ref name=reduction>{{cite journal |doi=10.1162/0898929053467569 |title=Functional Connectivity: Integrating Behavioral, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data Sets |year=2005 |last1=Baird |first1=Abigail A. |last2=Colvin |first2=Mary K. |last3=Vanhorn |first3=John D. |last4=Inati |first4=Souheil |last5=Gazzaniga |first5=Michael S. |journal=Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=687–93 |pmid=15829087|citeseerx=10.1.1.484.1868 |s2cid=4666737 }}</ref><ref name="parallel">{{cite journal |last1=Victor |first1=Jonathan D. |first2=Kenneth |last2=Maiese |first3=Robert |last3=Shapley |first4=John |last4=Sidtis |first5=Michael S. |last5=Gazzaniga |year=1989 |title=Acquired central dyschromatopsia: analysis of a case with preservation of color discrimination |journal=Clinical Vision Sciences |volume=4 |pages=183–96}}</ref><ref name="2D">{{cite journal |doi=10.1137/0513062 |title=Combinatorial Applications of Hermite Polynomials |year=1982 |last1=Azor |first1=Ruth |last2=Gillis |first2=J. |last3=Victor |first3=J. D. |journal=SIAM Journal on Mathematical Analysis |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=879–90}}</ref> leading to ], who has an Erdős number of 1, giving Portman an Erdős number of 5.<ref name="logic">{{cite journal |doi=10.1112/jlms/s1-12.2.185 |title=Note on the Transfinite Diameter |year=2009 |last1=Erdos |first1=P. |last2=Gillis |first2=J. |journal=Journal of the London Mathematical Society |issue=3 |page=185 |volume=s1-12}}</ref> Portman appeared in ''A Powerful Noise Live'' (2009) with ], who appeared in '']'' (2007) with Bacon, giving Portman a Bacon number of 2.<ref name="portman-bacon">{{cite web|url= http://oracleofbacon.org/movielinks.php?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Natalie+Portman |title=The Oracle of Bacon|website=oracleofbacon.org |access-date=2023-05-03}}</ref>

British actor ] has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6. Firth is credited as co-author of a neuroscience paper, "Political Orientations Are Correlated with Brain Structure in Young Adults",<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2011.03.017 |title=Political Orientations Are Correlated with Brain Structure in Young Adults |year=2011 |last1=Kanai |first1=Ryota |last2=Feilden |first2=Tom |last3=Firth |first3=Colin |author-link3= Colin Firth |last4=Rees |first4=Geraint |author-link4= Geraint Rees |journal=] |volume=21 |issue=8 |pages=677–80 |pmid=21474316 |pmc=3092984}}</ref> after he suggested on ] that such a study could be done.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13661538 | work=] | title=Colin Firth credited in brain research | date=2011-06-05 |access-date=2021-03-13}}</ref> Another author of that paper, ], has an Erdős number of 4,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.csauthors.net/distance/geraint-rees-0001/paul-erdos |title= From Geraint Rees 0001 to Paul Erdős in four papers |website=csauthors.net|access-date=2021-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313125119/https://www.csauthors.net/distance/geraint-rees-0001/paul-erdos |archive-date=2021-03-13|url-status=live}}</ref> which gives Firth an Erdős number of 5. Firth's Bacon number of 1 is due to his appearance in '']''.<ref name="Where the Truth Lies IMDB">{{IMDb title|qid=Q151848|title=Where the Truth Lies}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://oracleofbacon.org/movielinks.php?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Colin+Firth |title=The Oracle of Bacon|website=oracleofbacon.org |access-date=2021-03-13}}</ref>

] has an Erdős–Bacon number of 7; she is credited as a co-author on an ] paper that was written after a technique was used for her short film '']'', giving her an Erdős number of 5,<ref name="KSPE">{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/889668/actress-kristen-stewart-yes-that-kristen-stewart-just-released-a-research-paper-on-artificial-intelligence/|title=Kristen Stewart (yes, that Kristen Stewart) just released a research paper on artificial intelligence|first=Dave|last=Gershgorn|date=19 January 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.csauthors.net/distance/paul-erdos/kristen-stewart-001|title=From Paul Erdős to Kristen Stewart in five papers.|access-date=2021-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314174422/https://www.csauthors.net/distance/paul-erdos/kristen-stewart|archive-date=2018-03-14|url-status=live}}</ref> and she co-starred with ] in '']'', who co-starred with Bacon in '']'', giving her a Bacon number of 2.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://oracleofbacon.org/movielinks.php?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Kristen+Stewart |title=The Oracle of Bacon|website=oracleofbacon.org |access-date=2021-03-13}}</ref>

] has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6. He co-authored a peer-reviewed paper on The 2D shape structure dataset: A user annotated open access database May 2016 with Axel Carlier, Kathryn Leonard, Stefanie Hahmann and Geraldine Morin, giving him an Erdős number of 4.<ref name="2DS">{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303027523_The_2D_shape_structure_dataset_A_user_annotated_open_access_database|title=ResearchGate.net The 2D shape structure dataset: A user annotated open access database|access-date=2024-02-12}}</ref> and he co-starred with ] in '']'', who co-starred with Bacon in '']'', giving him a Bacon number of 2.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oracleofbacon.org/movielinks.php?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Misha+Collins |title=The Oracle of Bacon|website=oracleofbacon.org |access-date=2024-02-12}}</ref>

] has Erdős–Bacon number of 4. He co-authored a peer-reviewed paper on ], giving him an Erdős number of 3.<ref name="ofdm">{{cite journal |doi=10.1109/TSP.2003.822350 |title=Space-time bit-interleaved coded modulation for OFDM systems |year=2004 |last1=Lee |first1=Inkyu |last2=Chan |first2=Albert M. |last3=Sundberg |first3=Carl-Erik |journal=IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=820–25|bibcode=2004ITSP...52..820L |s2cid=16281296 }}</ref><ref name="bergman">{{cite journal |doi=10.1307/mmj/1029004992 |title=Invariant subspaces in Bergman spaces and the biharmonic equation |year=1994 |last1=Duren |first1=Peter |last2=Khavinson |first2=Dmitry |last3=Shapiro |first3=Harold S. |last4=Sundberg |first4=Carl-Erik |journal=Michigan Mathematical Journal |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=247–59|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="hilbert">{{cite journal |doi=10.1307/mmj/1028999306 |title=Large and small subspaces of Hilbert space |year=1965 |last1=Erdős |first1=Paul |last2=Shapiro |first2=Harold S. |journal=Michigan Mathematical Journal |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=169–78|doi-access=free }}</ref> Chan appeared alongside Kevin Bacon in '']'', giving him a Bacon number of 1.<ref name="patriots">{{IMDb title|qid=Q23767799|title=Patriots Day}} as "Computer Forensic Tech"</ref>

==Others==
], who is neither a scientist nor an actor, has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6. In 2010 Musk had a ] in the film '']''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Tate|first1=Ryan|title=10 Awkward Hollywood Cameos by Tech Founders|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/09/founders-awkward-hollywood-cameos/|magazine=]|date= 2012-09-20|access-date=2021-05-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201034116/https://www.wired.com/2012/09/founders-awkward-hollywood-cameos/|archive-date=2017-12-01|url-status=live}}</ref> Since actor ] played a role in both ''Iron Man 2'' and in '']'' where also ] played a role, Musk has a ] of 2.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://oracleofbacon.org/movielinks.php?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Elon+Musk |website= oracleofbacon.org |title= The Oracle of Bacon |quote= Elon Musk has a Bacon number of 2. Elon Musk was in Iron Man 2 with Mickey Rourke was in Diner with Kevin Bacon |access-date= 2021-05-08}}</ref> In 2021 Musk coauthored a ] scientific paper on ] together with ], among others.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Discrete SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers track with functional humoral stability |journal= ] | doi = 10.1038/s41467-021-21336-8 |pmc=7884400 |first1= Yannic C. |last1= Bartsch |first2= Stephanie |last2= Fischinger |first3= Sameed M. |last3= Siddiqui |first4= Zhilin |last4= Chen |first5= Jingyou |last5= Yu |first6= Makda |last6= Gebre |first7= Caroline |last7= Atyeo |first8= Matthew J. |last8= Gorman |first9= Alex Lee |last9= Zhu |first10= Jaewon |last10= Kang |first11= John S. |last11= Burke |first12= Matthew |last12= Slein |first13= Matthew J. |last13= Gluck |first14= Samuel |last14= Beger |first15= Yiyuan |last15= Hu |first16=Justin |last16= Rhee |first17= Eric |last17= Petersen |first18= Benjamin |last18= Mormann |first19= Michael |last19= de St Aubin |first20= Mohammad A. |last20= Hasdianda |first21= Guruprasad |last21= Jambaulikar |first22=Edward W. |last22= Boyer |first23=Pardis C. |last23= Sabeti |author-link23= Pardis Sabeti |first24= Dan H. |last24= Barouch |author-link24= Dan Barouch |first25= Boris D. |last25= Julg |first26= Elon R. |last26= Musk |author-link26= Elon Musk |first27= Anil S. |last27= Menon |first28= Douglas A. |last28= Lauffenburger |author-link28= Doug Lauffenburger |first29= Eric J. |last29= Nilles |first30= Galit |last30= Alter |author-link30= Galit Alter |date=2021-02-15 |volume= 12 |issue= 1 |page= 1018 |pmid= 33589636 |bibcode= 2021NatCo..12.1018B |doi-access= free }}</ref> Since Sabeti has an ] of 3,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://mathscinet.ams.org/mathscinet/freeTools.html?version=2 |title= MR: Search MSC database |website= ] |quote= MR Erdos Number = 3 Pardis C. Sabeti coauthored with Michael Mitzenmacher MR3595146 Michael Mitzenmacher coauthored with Joel H. Spencer MR2056083 Joel H. Spencer coauthored with Paul Erdős1 MR0382007 |access-date= 2021-05-08}}</ref> Musk has an Erdős number of 4<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/a/oakland.edu/jerry-grossman-home-page/home/the-erdoes-number-project/some-famous-people-with-finite-erdoes-numbers/other-distinguished-scholars-and-famous-people |title= Jerry Grossman's Web Page > The Erdös Number Project > Some Famous People with Finite Erdös Numbers > | publisher= ] |quote= Elon Musk entrepreneur 4 |access-date=2021-05-08}}</ref> and consequently an Erdős–Bacon number of 6.

] has an Erdős number of 3 through papers with ] and ],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.csauthors.net/distance/sergey-brin/paul-erdos|title=From Sergey Brin to Paul Erdős in three papers.|website=csauthors.net}}</ref> and he has two cameos in the 2013 comedy '']'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/07/an-ex-googlers-take-on-the-internship/|title=An Ex-Googler's Take On "The Internship"|date=June 8, 2013}}</ref> leading to a Bacon number of 2 via ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oracleofbacon.org/movielinks.php?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Sergey+Brin|title=The Oracle of Bacon|website=oracleofbacon.org}}</ref> and consequently an Erdős–Bacon number of 5.

] has an Erdős number of 4<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.csauthors.net/distance/bill-gates/paul-erdos|title=From Bill Gates to Paul Erdős in four papers.|website=csauthors.net}}</ref> and in 1987 he participated in a short ] ''Citizen Steve'' about ], where he co-starred with ], giving him a Bacon number of 2<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oracleofbacon.org/movielinks.php?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Bill+Gates|title=The Oracle of Bacon|website=oracleofbacon.org}}</ref> and consequently an Erdős–Bacon number of 6.

==Table==
<!-- NOTE: This list, like the rest of Misplaced Pages, should be verifiable. Please include supporting documentation in the table or in the above text for new additions. Unsourced "Drive-by" additions will be immediately commented out and/or deleted. Poorly sourced older instances should eventually be well-sourced, too. -->
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name
! Erdős number
! Bacon number
! Erdős–Bacon number
|-
|{{sortname|Mayim|Bialik}}
| 5 || 2 || 7<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://erdosbaconsabbath.com/mayim-bialik/
|title=Mayim Bialik
|work=Erdős Bacon Sabbath Project
|access-date=2014-02-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115221646/http://erdosbaconsabbath.com/mayim-bialik/
|archive-date=2018-01-15
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Jordan|Ellenberg}}
| 3<ref name="ellenberg-erdos"/> || 2<ref name="ellenberg-bacon"/> || 5
|-
|{{sortname|Richard|Feynman}}
| 3 || 3 || 6<ref name="FeynmanEBS">{{cite web |url=http://erdosbaconsabbath.com/richard-feynman/ |title=Richard Feynman |work=Erdős Bacon Sabbath Project |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225045109/http://erdosbaconsabbath.com/richard-feynman/ |archive-date=2017-12-25 |access-date=2015-12-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Colin|Firth}}
|5<ref name="actors" group="lower-alpha" /><ref name=":0" />
|1<ref name="Where the Truth Lies IMDB" />
|6
|-
|{{sortname|Misha|Collins}}
|4<ref name="actors" group="lower-alpha" />
|2
|6
|-
|{{sortname|Stephen|Hawking}}
| 4
| 2<ref name="as-self" group="lower-alpha" />
| 6<ref name="HawkingEBS">{{cite web |url=http://erdosbaconsabbath.com/stephen-hawking/ |title=Stephen Hawking |work=Erdős Bacon Sabbath Project |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225044901/http://erdosbaconsabbath.com/stephen-hawking/ |archive-date=2017-12-25 |access-date=2018-11-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| {{sortname|Daniel|Kleitman}}
| 1 || 2 || 3<ref name="enp1999" />
|-
|{{sortname|Danica|McKellar}}
| 4<ref name="Erdos1">{{cite web
|url=http://www.oakland.edu/enp/Erdos1
|title=The Erdős Number Project, Erdos1
|access-date=2006-12-20
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207190951/http://www.oakland.edu/enp/Erdos1
|archive-date=2006-12-07
|url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="ChayesMcKellar">{{cite journal |doi=10.1088/0305-4470/31/45/005 |title=Percolation and Gibbs states multiplicity for ferromagnetic Ashkin-Teller models on <math>\mathbb{Z}^2</math>|year=1998 |last1=Chayes |first1=L |last2=McKellar |first2=D |author-link2= Danica McKellar |last3=Winn |first3=B |journal=] |volume=31 |issue=45 |pages=9055–9063 |bibcode=1998JPhA...31.9055C }}</ref><ref name="ChayesKotecky">{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF02101808 |title=The analysis of the Widom-Rowlinson model by stochastic geometric methods |year=1995 |last1=Chayes |first1=J. T. |author-link1= Jennifer Tour Chayes |last2=Chayes |first2=L. |last3=Kotecký |first3=R. |journal=] |volume=172 |issue=3 |page=551|bibcode=1995CMaPh.172..551C |s2cid=15051914 |url=http://projecteuclid.org/euclid.cmp/1104274315 }}</ref><ref name="KoteckyPreiss">{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF01211762 |title=Cluster expansion for abstract polymer models |year=1986 |last1=Kotecký |first1=R. |last2=Preiss |first2=D. |author-link2= David Preiss |journal=] |volume=103 |issue=3 |pages=491–8|bibcode=1986CMaPh.103..491K |s2cid=121879006 |url=http://projecteuclid.org/euclid.cmp/1104114796 }}</ref>
| 2<ref name="actors" group="lower-alpha" />
| 6
|-
|{{sortname|Nicholas|Metropolis}}
| 2<ref name="FeynmanEBS" />
| 2<ref name=MetropolisEBS>{{cite web|url=http://oracleofbacon.org/cgi-bin/oracle/movielinks?firstname=Kevin+Bacon&game=1&secondname=Nick+Metropolis |title=The Oracle of Bacon|website=oracleofbacon.org}}</ref>
| 4
|-
|{{sortname|Elon|Musk}}<!-- Source citations in the text above -->
|4
|2<ref name="as-self" group="lower-alpha" />
|6
|-
|{{sortname|Natalie|Portman}}
| 5<ref name="lobe"/><ref name="reduction"/><ref name="parallel"/><ref name="2D"/><ref name="logic"/>
| 2<ref name="actors" group="lower-alpha" />
| 7<ref name="auto2"/>
|-
|{{sortname|Bruce|Reznick}}<!-- Source citations in the text above -->
|1
|2
|3
|-
|{{sortname|Carl|Sagan}}
| 4
| 2<ref name="as-self" group="lower-alpha" />
| 6<ref name="SaganEBS">{{cite web |url=http://erdosbaconsabbath.com/carl-sagan/ |title=Carl Sagan |work=Erdős Bacon Sabbath Project |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111013340/http://erdosbaconsabbath.com/carl-sagan/ |archive-date=2018-01-11 |access-date=2018-11-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Kristen|Stewart}}
|5<ref name="KSPE"/>
|2<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q160071|title=Twilight}} co-starred Kristen Stewart and ]</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q691672|title=Frost/Nixon}} co-starred ] and Kevin Bacon</ref>
|7
|-
|]
|4
|2
|6
|}
Notes:
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha|refs=
<ref name="as-self" group="lower-alpha">Includes role as self.</ref>
<ref name="actors" group="lower-alpha">See ].</ref>
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Kevin Bacon}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erdos-Bacon Number}}
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 16:07, 14 November 2024

Closeness of someone's association with mathematician Paul Erdős and actor Kevin Bacon

A person's Erdős–Bacon number is the sum of one's Erdős number—which measures the "collaborative distance" in authoring academic papers between that person and Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős—and one's Bacon number—which represents the number of links, through roles in films, by which the person is separated from American actor Kevin Bacon. The lower the number, the closer a person is to Erdős and Bacon, which reflects a small world phenomenon in academia and entertainment.

To have a defined Erdős–Bacon number, it is necessary to have both appeared in a film and co-authored an academic paper, although this in and of itself is not sufficient as one's co-authors must have a known chain leading to Paul Erdős, and one's film must have actors eventually leading to Kevin Bacon.

Academic scientists

Albert-Laszlo Barabási has Erdős–Bacon number 3, as he co-authored work with Laszlo Lovasz in Nature Physics, who has Erdős number 1, as he coauthored multiple papers with Erdős. Barabási has Bacon number of 1 via the documentary Connected, released in 2008.

Mathematician Daniel Kleitman has an Erdős–Bacon number of 3. He co-authored papers with Erdős and has a Bacon number of 2 via Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting; Driver and Bacon appeared together in Sleepers.

Like Kleitman, mathematician Bruce Reznick has co-authored a paper with Erdős and has a Bacon number of 2, via Roddy McDowall in the film Pretty Maids All in a Row where he appeared as an extra, giving him an Erdős–Bacon number of 3 as well.

Belgian economist François Maniquet has an Erdős number of 4, and also a Bacon number of 3 via the 2017 French film An Indian Tale, so that his Erdős–Bacon number is 7.

Physicist Nicholas Metropolis has an Erdős number of 2, and also a Bacon number of 2 via the Woody Allen film Husbands and Wives, giving him an Erdős–Bacon number of 4.

Metropolis and Richard Feynman both worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Laboratory. Via Metropolis, Feynman has an Erdős number of 3 and, from having appeared in the film Anti-Clock alongside Tony Tang, Feynman also has a Bacon number of 3. Richard Feynman thus has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6.

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6: his Bacon number of 2 (via his appearance alongside John Cleese in Monty Python Live (Mostly), who acted alongside Kevin Bacon in The Big Picture) is lower than his Erdős number of 4.

Similarly to Stephen Hawking, scientist Carl Sagan has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6, also from a Bacon number of 2 and an Erdős number of 4.

Mathematician Jordan Ellenberg has an Erdős number of 3 and a Bacon number of 2 due to a cameo appearance in the film Gifted for which he was also the mathematical consultant.

Linguist Noam Chomsky has an Erdős number of 4, he also co-starred with Danny Glover in the 2005 documentary The Peace!, giving him a Bacon number of 2 and combined Erdős–Bacon number of 6.

Actors

Danica McKellar, who played Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years, has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6. While an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, McKellar coauthored a mathematics paper with Lincoln Chayes, who via his wife Jennifer Tour Chayes has an Erdős number of 3, giving McKellar one of 4. Having worked with Margaret Easley, McKellar has a Bacon number of 2.

Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman has an Erdős–Bacon number of 7. She collaborated (using her birth name, Natalie Hershlag) with Abigail A. Baird, who has a collaboration path leading to Joseph Gillis, who has an Erdős number of 1, giving Portman an Erdős number of 5. Portman appeared in A Powerful Noise Live (2009) with Sarah Michelle Gellar, who appeared in The Air I Breathe (2007) with Bacon, giving Portman a Bacon number of 2.

British actor Colin Firth has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6. Firth is credited as co-author of a neuroscience paper, "Political Orientations Are Correlated with Brain Structure in Young Adults", after he suggested on BBC Radio 4 that such a study could be done. Another author of that paper, Geraint Rees, has an Erdős number of 4, which gives Firth an Erdős number of 5. Firth's Bacon number of 1 is due to his appearance in Where the Truth Lies.

Kristen Stewart has an Erdős–Bacon number of 7; she is credited as a co-author on an artificial intelligence paper that was written after a technique was used for her short film Come Swim, giving her an Erdős number of 5, and she co-starred with Michael Sheen in Twilight, who co-starred with Bacon in Frost/Nixon, giving her a Bacon number of 2.

Misha Collins has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6. He co-authored a peer-reviewed paper on The 2D shape structure dataset: A user annotated open access database May 2016 with Axel Carlier, Kathryn Leonard, Stefanie Hahmann and Geraldine Morin, giving him an Erdős number of 4. and he co-starred with Kiefer Sutherland in 24, who co-starred with Bacon in A Few Good Men, giving him a Bacon number of 2.

Albert M. Chan has Erdős–Bacon number of 4. He co-authored a peer-reviewed paper on OFDM, giving him an Erdős number of 3. Chan appeared alongside Kevin Bacon in Patriots Day, giving him a Bacon number of 1.

Others

Elon Musk, who is neither a scientist nor an actor, has an Erdős–Bacon number of 6. In 2010 Musk had a cameo in the film Iron Man 2. Since actor Mickey Rourke played a role in both Iron Man 2 and in Diner where also Kevin Bacon played a role, Musk has a Bacon number of 2. In 2021 Musk coauthored a peer-reviewed scientific paper on COVID-19 together with Pardis Sabeti, among others. Since Sabeti has an Erdős number of 3, Musk has an Erdős number of 4 and consequently an Erdős–Bacon number of 6.

Sergey Brin has an Erdős number of 3 through papers with Jeffrey Ullman and Ronald Graham, and he has two cameos in the 2013 comedy The Internship, leading to a Bacon number of 2 via Rose Byrne and consequently an Erdős–Bacon number of 5.

Bill Gates has an Erdős number of 4 and in 1987 he participated in a short mockumentary Citizen Steve about Steven Spielberg, where he co-starred with Whoopi Goldberg, giving him a Bacon number of 2 and consequently an Erdős–Bacon number of 6.

Table

Name Erdős number Bacon number Erdős–Bacon number
Mayim Bialik 5 2 7
Jordan Ellenberg 3 2 5
Richard Feynman 3 3 6
Colin Firth 5 1 6
Misha Collins 4 2 6
Stephen Hawking 4 2 6
Daniel Kleitman 1 2 3
Danica McKellar 4 2 6
Nicholas Metropolis 2 2 4
Elon Musk 4 2 6
Natalie Portman 5 2 7
Bruce Reznick 1 2 3
Carl Sagan 4 2 6
Kristen Stewart 5 2 7
Wendelin Werner 4 2 6

Notes:

  1. ^ See discussion above (Actors).
  2. ^ Includes role as self.

References

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  18. ^ Chayes, J. T.; Chayes, L.; Kotecký, R. (1995). "The analysis of the Widom-Rowlinson model by stochastic geometric methods". Communications in Mathematical Physics. 172 (3): 551. Bibcode:1995CMaPh.172..551C. doi:10.1007/BF02101808. S2CID 15051914.
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  42. Bartsch, Yannic C.; Fischinger, Stephanie; Siddiqui, Sameed M.; Chen, Zhilin; Yu, Jingyou; Gebre, Makda; Atyeo, Caroline; Gorman, Matthew J.; Zhu, Alex Lee; Kang, Jaewon; Burke, John S.; Slein, Matthew; Gluck, Matthew J.; Beger, Samuel; Hu, Yiyuan; Rhee, Justin; Petersen, Eric; Mormann, Benjamin; de St Aubin, Michael; Hasdianda, Mohammad A.; Jambaulikar, Guruprasad; Boyer, Edward W.; Sabeti, Pardis C.; Barouch, Dan H.; Julg, Boris D.; Musk, Elon R.; Menon, Anil S.; Lauffenburger, Douglas A.; Nilles, Eric J.; Alter, Galit (2021-02-15). "Discrete SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers track with functional humoral stability". Nature Communications. 12 (1): 1018. Bibcode:2021NatCo..12.1018B. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-21336-8. PMC 7884400. PMID 33589636.
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  53. Twilight at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata co-starred Kristen Stewart and Michael Sheen
  54. Frost/Nixon at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata co-starred Michael Sheen and Kevin Bacon
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