Abstract
In science, the countries of Austria and Hungary have probably made their nnost outstanding achievements in the areas of mathematics and logic. This includes the mathematical foundation of information technology and its reclaiming (in the sense of applied mathematics) by physics. In this section, the interdisciplinary paradigm of entropy will stand in for this. Gyula Staar describes several personalities scattered worldwide who founded the legendary reputation of the Hungarian mathematics scene: Lipót Féjer, György Pólya, Miklós Laczkovich, Lászio Lovász, and others. This community of mathematicians, logicians, and theoretical physicists posed a riddle for the rest of the world via their continuous brilliance. One of the most famous, the number theoretician Pál Erdös, composed a personal contribution to this volume shortly before his unexpected death. Since the Pythagoreans, number theory in particular has equally fascinated both artists and mathematicians. Although some of its problems are understandable for any educated person, progress is measured in centuries. Already a generation younger than Erdos, the Austrian Wolfgang Schmidt, portrayed in this volume by Martin Neuwirther, has also written himself into this tradition.