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{{short description|American mathematician}}
{{short description|American mathematician}}
{{ Infobox scientist
{{ Infobox scientist
| name = Andrew Odlyzko
| name = Andrzej Odłyżko
| image = Andrew Odlyzko.jpg
| image = Andrew Odlyzko.jpg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| caption = Andrew Odlyzko, 1986 at the [[Mathematical Research Institute of Oberwolfach|MFO]]
| caption = Andrew Odlyzko, 1986 at the [[Mathematical Research Institute of Oberwolfach|MFO]]
| birth_date = {{b-da|23 July 1949}}
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|23 July 1949}}
| birth_place = [[Tarnów]], [[Communist Poland|Poland]]
| birth_place = [[Tarnów]], [[Communist Poland|Poland]]
| death_date =
| death_date =
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| doctoral_advisor = [[Harold Stark]]
| doctoral_advisor = [[Harold Stark]]
| doctoral_students =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for =
| known_for = [[Odlyzko–Schönhage algorithm]]
| awards =
| awards =
}}
}}
'''Andrew Michael Odlyzko''' (born 23 July 1949) is a [[Poles|Polish]]-[[United States|American]] mathematician and a former head of the [[University of Minnesota]]'s Digital Technology Center and of the [[Minnesota Supercomputing Institute]]. He began his career in 1975 at Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he stayed for 26 years before joining the University of Minnesota in 2001.
'''Andrew Michael Odlyzko''' ('''Andrzej Odłyżko''') (born 23 July 1949) is a [[Polish people|Polish]]-[[United States|American]] mathematician and a former head of the [[University of Minnesota]]'s Digital Technology Center and of the [[Minnesota Supercomputing Institute]]. He began his career in 1975 at [[Bell Telephone Laboratories]], where he stayed for 26 years before joining the [[University of Minnesota]] in 2001.


== Work in mathematics ==
== Work in mathematics ==


Odlyzko received his B.S. and M.S. in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975.<ref>{{MathGenealogy|id=36349}}</ref> In the field of mathematics he has published extensively on [[analytic number theory]], [[computational number theory]], [[cryptography]], [[algorithm]]s and [[Analysis of algorithms|computational complexity]], [[combinatorics]], [[probability]], and [[error-correcting code]]s. In the early 1970s, he was a co-author (with D. Kahaner and [[Gian-Carlo Rota]]) of one of the founding papers of the modern [[umbral calculus]]. In 1985 he and [[Herman te Riele]] disproved the [[Mertens conjecture]]. In mathematics, he is probably known best for his work on the [[Riemann zeta function]], which led to the invention of improved algorithms, including the [[Odlyzko–Schönhage algorithm]], and large-scale computations, which stimulated extensive research on connections between the zeta function and [[random matrix]] theory.
Odlyzko received his B.S. and M.S. in mathematics from the [[California Institute of Technology]] and his Ph.D. from the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] in 1975.<ref>{{MathGenealogy|id=36349}}</ref>
In the field of mathematics he has published extensively on [[analytic number theory]], [[computational number theory]], [[cryptography]], [[algorithm]]s and [[Analysis of algorithms|computational complexity]], [[combinatorics]], [[probability]], and [[error-correcting code]]s. In the early 1970s, he was a co-author (with D. Kahaner and [[Gian-Carlo Rota]]) of one of the founding papers of the modern [[umbral calculus]]. In 1985 he and [[Herman te Riele]] disproved the [[Mertens conjecture]]. In mathematics, he is probably known best for his work on the [[Riemann zeta function]], which led to the invention of improved algorithms, including the [[Odlyzko–Schönhage algorithm]], and large-scale computations, which stimulated extensive research on connections between the zeta function and [[random matrix]] theory.


As a direct collaborator of [[Paul Erdős]], he has [[Erdős number]] 1.<ref>[http://www.oakland.edu/enp/ Erdős number project].</ref><ref>[https://mathscinet.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=535395 Density of Odd Integers].</ref>
As a direct collaborator of [[Paul Erdős]], he has [[Erdős number]] 1.<ref>[http://www.oakland.edu/enp/ Erdős number project].</ref><ref>[https://mathscinet.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=535395 Density of Odd Integers].</ref>
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More recently, he has worked on [[communication network]]s, [[electronic publishing]], [[economics of security]] and [[electronic commerce]].
More recently, he has worked on [[communication network]]s, [[electronic publishing]], [[economics of security]] and [[electronic commerce]].


In 1998, he and Kerry Coffman were the first to show that one of the great inspirations for the Internet bubble, the myth of "Internet traffic doubling every 100 days," was false.<ref>"The size and growth rate of the Internet," K. G. Coffman and A. M. Odlyzko, First Monday 3(10) (October 1998), http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/620/541</ref>
In 1998, he and Kerry Coffman were the first to show that one of the great inspirations for the Internet bubble, the myth of "Internet traffic doubling every 100 days," was false.<ref>"The size and growth rate of the Internet," K. G. Coffman and A. M. Odlyzko, First Monday 3(10) (October 1998), http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/620/541 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412051531/http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/620/541 |date=2012-04-12 }}</ref>


In the paper "Content is Not King", published in ''[[First Monday (journal)|First Monday]]'' in January 2001, he argues that
In the paper "Content is Not King", published in ''[[First Monday (journal)|First Monday]]'' in January 2001,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Odlyzko |first=Andrew |date=February 2001 |title=Content is Not King |journal=First Monday |language=en |volume=6 |issue=2|doi=10.5210/fm.v6i2.833 |ssrn=235282 |doi-access=free }}</ref> he argues that
# the [[entertainment industry]] is a small industry compared with other industries, notably the [[telecommunications industry]];
# the [[entertainment industry]] is a small industry compared with other industries, notably the [[telecommunications industry]];
# people are more interested in [[communication]] than [[entertainment]];
# people are more interested in [[communication]] than [[entertainment]];
# and therefore that entertainment "content" is not the [[killer app]] for the [[Internet]].
# and therefore that entertainment "content" is not the [[killer app]] for the [[Internet]].


In 2012 he became a fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research<ref>https://www.iacr.org/fellows/</ref> and in 2013 of the [[American Mathematical Society]].
In 2012, he became a fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iacr.org/fellows/ |title = IACR Fellows}}</ref> and in 2013 of the [[American Mathematical Society]].


=== Network value ===
=== Network value ===


In the paper "Metcalfe's Law is Wrong",<ref name="MetcalfeWrong">[http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/networks/metcalfes-law-is-wrong "Metcalfe's Law is Wrong"]. Bob Briscoe, Andrew Odlyzko, and Benjamin Tilly, July 2006 IEEE Spectrum.</ref> Andrew Odlyzko argues that the incremental value of adding one person to network of ''n'' people is approximately the ''n''th [[harmonic number]], so the total value of the network is approximately ''n''&nbsp;log&nbsp;''n''. Since this curves upward (unlike [[Sarnoff's law]]), it implies that Metcalfe's conclusion – that there is a [[critical mass (sociodynamics)|critical mass]] in networks, leading to a [[network effect]] – is qualitatively correct. But since this [[linearithmic function]] does not grow as rapidly as [[Metcalfe's law]], it implies that many of the quantitative expectations based on Metcalfe's law were excessively optimistic.
In the 2006 paper "Metcalfe's Law is Wrong",<ref name="MetcalfeWrong">[https://spectrum.ieee.org/metcalfes-law-is-wrong "Metcalfe's Law is Wrong"]. Bob Briscoe, Andrew Odlyzko, and Benjamin Tilly, July 2006 IEEE Spectrum.</ref> Andrew Odlyzko and coauthors argue that the incremental value of adding one person to a network of ''n'' people is approximately the ''n''th [[harmonic number]], so the total value of the network is approximately ''n''&nbsp;* log(''n)''. Since this curves upward (unlike [[Sarnoff's law]]), it implies that Metcalfe's conclusion – that there is a [[critical mass (sociodynamics)|critical mass]] in networks, leading to a [[network effect]] – is qualitatively correct. But since this [[linearithmic function]] does not grow as rapidly as [[Metcalfe's law]], it implies that many of the quantitative expectations based on Metcalfe's law were excessively optimistic.

For example, by Metcalfe, if a hypothetical network of 100,000 members has a value of $1M, doubling its membership would increase its value fourfold (200,000<sup>2</sup>/100,000<sup>2</sup>). However Odlyzko predicts its value would only slightly more than double: 200,000*log(200,000)/(100,000*log(100,000).<ref name="MetcalfeWrong" /> Empirical tests, in part stimulated by this criticism, strongly support Metcalfe's law.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Zhang|first1=Xing-Zhou|last2=Liu|first2=Jing-Jie|last3=Xu|first3=Zhi-Wei|date=March 2015|title=Tencent and Facebook Data Validate Metcalfe's Law|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11390-015-1518-1|journal=Journal of Computer Science and Technology|language=en|volume=30|issue=2|pages=246–251|doi=10.1007/s11390-015-1518-1|s2cid=207288368|issn=1000-9000}}</ref>

== Financial History ==


In recent years, Odlyzko has published multiple papers on the financial history of bubbles, particularly the [[South Sea Company|South Sea Bubble]] and the [[Railway Mania|English Railway Mania]] of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, respectively.<ref>An undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is: Bubbles and gullibility, A. Odlyzko. Financial History, no. 132, Winter 2020, pp. 16-19</ref><ref name="Odlyzko pp. 30–36">{{cite journal | last=Odlyzko | first=Andrew | title=Isaac Newton and the perils of the financial South Sea | journal=Physics Today | publisher=AIP Publishing | volume=73 | issue=7 | date=2020-07-01 | issn=0031-9228 | doi=10.1063/pt.3.4521 | pages=30–36| bibcode=2020PhT....73g..30O | s2cid=225558487 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Odlyzko pp. 29–59">{{cite journal | last=Odlyzko | first=Andrew | title=Newton's financial misadventures in the South Sea Bubble | journal=Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science | publisher=The Royal Society | volume=73 | issue=1 | date=2018-08-29 | issn=0035-9149 | doi=10.1098/rsnr.2018.0018 | pages=29–59}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.moaf.org/publications-collections/financial-history-magazine |title=Financial History Magazine |website=Museum of American Finance |access-date=August 14, 2022}}</ref>
For example, by Metcalfe, if a hypothetical network of 100,000 members has a value of $1M, doubling its membership would increase its value (200,000<sup>2</sup>/100,000<sup>2</sup>) times, or in other words quadruple to $4M.
However, per Odlyzko, that its value would only grow by 200,000&nbsp;log&nbsp;(200,000)&nbsp;/&nbsp;100,000&nbsp;log(100,000) times, or in other words, slightly more than double to $2.1M.<ref name="MetcalfeWrong" />


== See also ==
== See also ==
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* [http://www.dtc.umn.edu Digital Technology Center] at the [[University of Minnesota]]
* [http://www.dtc.umn.edu Digital Technology Center] at the [[University of Minnesota]]
* Andrew Odlyzko, [http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/tragic.loss.txt Tragic loss or good riddance? The impending demise of traditional scholarly journals]
* Andrew Odlyzko, [http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/tragic.loss.txt Tragic loss or good riddance? The impending demise of traditional scholarly journals]
* Andrew Odlyzko, [http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/833/742 Content is Not King], ''First Monday'', Vol. 6, No. 2 (5 February 2001).
* Andrew Odlyzko, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120223151343/http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/833/742 Content is Not King], ''First Monday'', Vol. 6, No. 2 (5 February 2001).
* [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Montgomery-OdlyzkoLaw.html Montgomery–Odlyzko law] at [[MathWorld]]
* [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Montgomery-OdlyzkoLaw.html Montgomery–Odlyzko law] at [[MathWorld]]


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[[Category:Scientists at Bell Labs]]
[[Category:Scientists at Bell Labs]]
[[Category:California Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:California Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni]]
[[Category:University of Minnesota faculty]]
[[Category:University of Minnesota faculty]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Mathematical Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Mathematical Society]]

Latest revision as of 14:34, 17 November 2024

Andrzej Odłyżko
Andrew Odlyzko, 1986 at the MFO
Born23 July 1949 (1949-07-23) (age 75)
Tarnów, Poland
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D., Mathematics, 1975)
California Institute of Technology (B.S., M.S., Mathematics) [1]
Known forOdlyzko–Schönhage algorithm
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsBell Telephone Laboratories, AT&T Bell Labs, AT&T Labs, University of Minnesota
Doctoral advisorHarold Stark

Andrew Michael Odlyzko (Andrzej Odłyżko) (born 23 July 1949) is a Polish-American mathematician and a former head of the University of Minnesota's Digital Technology Center and of the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute. He began his career in 1975 at Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he stayed for 26 years before joining the University of Minnesota in 2001.

Work in mathematics

[edit]

Odlyzko received his B.S. and M.S. in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975.[2]

In the field of mathematics he has published extensively on analytic number theory, computational number theory, cryptography, algorithms and computational complexity, combinatorics, probability, and error-correcting codes. In the early 1970s, he was a co-author (with D. Kahaner and Gian-Carlo Rota) of one of the founding papers of the modern umbral calculus. In 1985 he and Herman te Riele disproved the Mertens conjecture. In mathematics, he is probably known best for his work on the Riemann zeta function, which led to the invention of improved algorithms, including the Odlyzko–Schönhage algorithm, and large-scale computations, which stimulated extensive research on connections between the zeta function and random matrix theory.

As a direct collaborator of Paul Erdős, he has Erdős number 1.[3][4]

Work on electronic communication

[edit]

More recently, he has worked on communication networks, electronic publishing, economics of security and electronic commerce.

In 1998, he and Kerry Coffman were the first to show that one of the great inspirations for the Internet bubble, the myth of "Internet traffic doubling every 100 days," was false.[5]

In the paper "Content is Not King", published in First Monday in January 2001,[6] he argues that

  1. the entertainment industry is a small industry compared with other industries, notably the telecommunications industry;
  2. people are more interested in communication than entertainment;
  3. and therefore that entertainment "content" is not the killer app for the Internet.

In 2012, he became a fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research[7] and in 2013 of the American Mathematical Society.

Network value

[edit]

In the 2006 paper "Metcalfe's Law is Wrong",[8] Andrew Odlyzko and coauthors argue that the incremental value of adding one person to a network of n people is approximately the nth harmonic number, so the total value of the network is approximately n * log(n). Since this curves upward (unlike Sarnoff's law), it implies that Metcalfe's conclusion – that there is a critical mass in networks, leading to a network effect – is qualitatively correct. But since this linearithmic function does not grow as rapidly as Metcalfe's law, it implies that many of the quantitative expectations based on Metcalfe's law were excessively optimistic.

For example, by Metcalfe, if a hypothetical network of 100,000 members has a value of $1M, doubling its membership would increase its value fourfold (200,0002/100,0002). However Odlyzko predicts its value would only slightly more than double: 200,000*log(200,000)/(100,000*log(100,000).[8] Empirical tests, in part stimulated by this criticism, strongly support Metcalfe's law.[9]

Financial History

[edit]

In recent years, Odlyzko has published multiple papers on the financial history of bubbles, particularly the South Sea Bubble and the English Railway Mania of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, respectively.[10][11][12][13]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Profile: Andrew Odlyzko", TLI, University of Minnesota.
  2. ^ Andrew Odlyzko at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  3. ^ Erdős number project.
  4. ^ Density of Odd Integers.
  5. ^ "The size and growth rate of the Internet," K. G. Coffman and A. M. Odlyzko, First Monday 3(10) (October 1998), http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/620/541 Archived 2012-04-12 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Odlyzko, Andrew (February 2001). "Content is Not King". First Monday. 6 (2). doi:10.5210/fm.v6i2.833. SSRN 235282.
  7. ^ "IACR Fellows".
  8. ^ a b "Metcalfe's Law is Wrong". Bob Briscoe, Andrew Odlyzko, and Benjamin Tilly, July 2006 IEEE Spectrum.
  9. ^ Zhang, Xing-Zhou; Liu, Jing-Jie; Xu, Zhi-Wei (March 2015). "Tencent and Facebook Data Validate Metcalfe's Law". Journal of Computer Science and Technology. 30 (2): 246–251. doi:10.1007/s11390-015-1518-1. ISSN 1000-9000. S2CID 207288368.
  10. ^ An undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is: Bubbles and gullibility, A. Odlyzko. Financial History, no. 132, Winter 2020, pp. 16-19
  11. ^ Odlyzko, Andrew (2020-07-01). "Isaac Newton and the perils of the financial South Sea". Physics Today. 73 (7). AIP Publishing: 30–36. Bibcode:2020PhT....73g..30O. doi:10.1063/pt.3.4521. ISSN 0031-9228. S2CID 225558487.
  12. ^ Odlyzko, Andrew (2018-08-29). "Newton's financial misadventures in the South Sea Bubble". Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science. 73 (1). The Royal Society: 29–59. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2018.0018. ISSN 0035-9149.
  13. ^ "Financial History Magazine". Museum of American Finance. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
[edit]
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