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I've noticed recently that colleagues, friends, and others seeking employment, have shown, among other things, their Erdős number on their resume/CV. I've also seen some put down their h-index, or their publication with the most citations (the running tally of citations for that publication), or the Impact Factor journal that they have ever published in, etc.

I know there is a question on just h-index in a CV/resume (so please do not mark as duplicate), but this is a broader question about other figures of merit, especially Erdős number.

I realize that having a CV/resume that stands out is important and can give an edge to getting that coveted position, but is listing these types of things appropriate?

Let me just make clear that I am not endorsing doing this or saying that I have done it, I am just asking if this is common, acceptable, or purposeful.

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iwantmyphd
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    How the heck can the Erdős number be seen as a sign of merit? I always assumed this was sort of a joke. – xLeitix Jan 30 '15 at 22:06
  • I am still voting for this to be a duplicate, because I think that essentially the same arguments can be made for/against most real bibliometric numbers in the CV. It really does not matter whether you talk about h-index or something else. – xLeitix Jan 30 '15 at 22:07
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    I think there are two separate questions in here (Erdos# and 'any numbers'), and that you might do better to split them... – jakebeal Jan 30 '15 at 22:46
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    Well, if your Erdős number is 0, that would be pretty impressive. But then I suppose just including your last name would suffice... – BrianH Jan 30 '15 at 23:22
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    Wouldn't it depend on the type of thing? If so you shouldn't ask such a general question. If not then it should be closed as duplicate of the question you linked. So, pick your close reason. –  Jan 30 '15 at 23:32
  • @xLeitix I never said it was a *sign* of merit, I said it was a *Figure of Merit (FOM)*, in other words, a metric that can be used to measure something. Whether that measurement is useful in a CV/resume, is what I am asking, because it seems to be happening more often. – iwantmyphd Jan 30 '15 at 23:58
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    Very vaguely related odd-site link: http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3044#comic – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Jan 31 '15 at 00:53
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    @xLeitix The answers so far for this question (which are specifically about Erdos number) are no, whereas the top answer at present for the h-index question is basically yes. This makes it seem strange to me to be considered as a duplicate (though perhaps the question should be edited to be solely about Erdos number?). – Kimball Jan 31 '15 at 05:35
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    "Figure of merit" seems to me like an odd choice of words if what you mean is "a metric that can be used to measure something". The Erdős number is certainly a figure, and it obviously measures something (the number of links between you and Erdős), but I don't know anyone who would describe what it measures as being related to your "merit" in any significant academic sense. It's more like a bit of trivia. – Nate Eldredge Jan 31 '15 at 07:18
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    Putting your Erdős number on your CV might be fun, and some people do it for essentially that reason, but as far as helping your career, it's roughly as useful as writing that you can wiggle your ears. – Nate Eldredge Jan 31 '15 at 07:19
  • @BrianDHall: You'd also have some difficulty asking this question in that case, as you'd have been dead (pardon me, "left") for almost 20 years. – Nate Eldredge Jan 31 '15 at 22:05

2 Answers2

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As a mathematician, I don't view an Erdős number as a sign of merit in any serious way. It's more of a cultural in-joke.

There are over 9,000 people with Erdős number 2, and far more than that with Erdős number 3, so it doesn't really set you apart. So, if you published with Erdős, that fact will be clear form your list of papers, and if you haven't, your Erdős number tells very little about you.

My own Erdős number is 3 (two ways), FWIW.

Oswald Veblen
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Reiterating "Oswald Veblen"'s remarks: probably everyone in the world has an Erdos number that's a single digit, for roughly similar reasons to the fact that, statistically [sic] everyone in Western Europe can (maybe...) trace their lineage to some king of France 900 years ago... but not in any interesting, informative, or "special" way.

Only slightly less silly are the "bibliometric indices"...

Conceivably, if you are applying for jobs with nincompoops, they'll be moved by silly things, so by all means crank it up.

On the other hand, if your desired employers are not nincompoops, they'll at best think you're young-and-naive to mention such stuff in any way other than as humor. Time-and-space on CV's and in interviews is vastly better spent not kidding around and saying silly things.

paul garrett
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