Re the degrees of separation game, Tim Lambert points out that he’s got an Erdos number of three: Lambert – Stanton – Stinson – Erdos.
If you really bend the rules*, I’ve got an Erdos number of five: Erdos -> Peter Palfy->Jan Saxl->Pavel Etingof->Alexander Kirillov. Which means I’ve got a Lambert number of – what – eight?
Lambert – Stanton – Stinson – Erdos – Peter Palfy – Jan Saxl – Pavel Etingof – Alexander Kirillov – John Fleck.
Gavin’s won the beverage of choice with chain with four degrees of separation between McIntyre and Mann, and I’m still awaiting someone with the patience and energy to find the William Connolley-Luboš Motl links.
*And by “bend the rules,” I mean “make up a completely new set in order to allow this to happen”. Back in 2000 and 2001, I was volunteering on the GNOME project, and Sasha Kirillov and I co-wrote the GNOME users guide. To make this work, you’ve got to allow software documentation. But, as I said before, it’s my game. I get to make up the rules.
I co-wrote some math stuff with one of Erdos’s coauthors, so I could pretend that I have an Erdos number of 2. Still, I’m bending the rules, too, because the math stuff was related to a textbook, not a research paper.
My number is imaginary.
I like that. I think my Erdos number is imaginary too.