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Special Mathematicians Revisted

To begin the school year, I am reprinting a "classic" Mathematician of the Week from 10/28/2007...as an example of what you will find in the Archives....

A slight deviance from the normal format. What common characteristic do all of the following great mathematicians share:
  • Leonhard Euler
  • Nicholas Saunderson
  • Lev Pontryagin
  • Alfred Loewy
  • Stephen Smale
  • W.G. Bickley
  • Bernard Morin
  • Joseph Plateau

Answer: All were blind mathematicians! For more, the interesting article "The World of Blind Mathematicians" in the Notices of the AMS (Nov 2002).