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File: MeetingRonGraham

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----
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----
Previous blog posts:
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----
Additionally, some earlier writings:
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  * ColinsBlog2010
  * ColinsBlog2009
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  * ColinsBlogBefore2007
********
!! 2017/10/01 - How I Met RonGraham

I was a lowly PhD student when I first met RonGraham.  It was at a
conference, and there was something I wanted to show him.  In my mind
it was pretty much guaranteed that he would be interested, but he was
(and still is!) extremely well known, extremely eminent, and extremely
popular.  As a result he is extremely busy, and somewhat besieged with
people wanting a piece of his time.  How could I possibly attract and
hold his attention long enough to get him interested?

So I hatched a plan.

Clearly it worked, because I *did* meet him and he *was* interested,
but exactly how well the plan had worked wasn't clear until we met
again many years later.  At that time I was visiting a friend who
lived quite close to Murray Hill, so we "dropped in" on the off-chance
he was there.  Not only was he there, and not only did we get to spend
some time with Ron, he recounted to my friend the story of how we had
met!  He remembered in detail the ploy I had used, and told the tale
with some glee.

And has done so several times since - each time he introduces me to
someone he tells the tale of how I had caught his attention, so not
only did it work, it left a lasting impression.  And now I'll tell
it to you.

As I say, I was a lowly PhD student, and Ron was the opening plenary
speaker at the conference.  It was a pretty major conference, well
attended, and the plenary was full.  I knew that, unless steps were
taken, when he finished Ron would be surrounded by people wanting
to talk to him.  One of the problems with being well-known in your
field is that everyone wants to get you interested in their problem,
and, of course, I would be just one among the throng.

My plan?  I figured that the organisers would try to pre-empt this
unseemly scrum by scheduling the conference announcements to follow
immediately after Ron's talk.  That would give him time to escape
while the delegates were pinned in place to listen to the important
information.

So, I thought, Ron would exit left, and escape.  I laid my trap.

A few minutes before he finished I quietly slipped out the back and
lay in wait in the foyer.  There was really only one way out, and
that was from the side door, across the foyer, and out the main
doors.  I waited, hope against hope that the plan would work. There
was applause in the auditorium, but no one came out through the
main doors.

And then suddenly there was Ron, right on time, striding across the
foyer.  I matched him step-for-step (not easy - he's quite tall and
was in a hurry) and delivered the crucial opening line.

"Professor Graham" (briefest nod of acknowledgement) "I have something
I think that will interest you, but you have no way of knowing that
I'm not a crank.  So give me just 2 minutes - if in those 2 minutes
I haven't said something interesting, just walk away and I promise
I won't follow you."

He stopped dead, looked at me, and said - "OK, go on."

So I did a three ball cascade and said "Call this type of throw a '3'",
did a four ball fountain and said "Call this type of throw a '4', etc."
and then defined a "1" as a "zip" - then said: "We can do 5551" and
demonstrated.

Ron said: "Let's get a coffee," and we were off.

[[[> You can also read the _ SciAmProfileOfRonGraham ]]]
So that's how I met RonGraham.  Subsequently we've met and spoken
many times, and we collaborated with Joe Buhler and Dave Eisenbud on
the paper about juggling that gave me me ErdosNumber (of the first
type) of 2. And that's the story that Ron tells whenever he introduces
me to someone.

[[[>
''' <img src="https://www.solipsys.co.uk/images/ColinWithRonGrahamAndAMassiveRubikCube.jpg" width="480px" />
----
|>> With Ron in August, 2015 <<|
]]]
Which I'm unreasonably proud of.

!! Later ...

I wrote the above in October 2017. It's now July 2020 and I've just heard
that Ron passed away yesterday.  We only met occasionally, we exchanged
emails here and there, but I'm sad that I won't get to see him again.

I hate selfies.  I really, /really/ hate selfies, but this is (as far as
I can tell) the best photo I have with the two of us.  It's a great memory
for me, but it hardly does him justice.

----

|>>
| |>> <<<< Prev <<<< ---- NapkinRingVersusSphericalCap <<| | : | |>> >>>> Next >>>> ---- FourPointsTwoDistancesProof ... <<| |
----
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