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Clearlybeerly t1_iwnkreh wrote

In math, why do they name numbers after people, like Graham's number?

I mean, what if I say "Graham's number + 1"? Why wouldn't that be called Clearlybeerly's number, which, I must say, has a better ring to it. Or what about 6.9 x 10^69 ? That would be a good number to name after me as well. Who doesn't like a good 69? For sure this number needs a name.

But seriously, why name some rando number after someone?

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nivlark t1_iwnu5uz wrote

Because that person wrote a paper where they identified that number and showed some interesting result involving it. You could name a number yourself if you wanted, but unless you give the mathematical community a reason to adopt that name, it won't gain any notoriety.

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