Talk:Kenneth Kunen

Ken Kunen vs Kenneth Kunen

I know that Kunen's name officially is "Kenneth Kunen" but among those who know him, his name is almost always "Ken Kunen". At least a redirection should be created, but I humbly suggest that the page should be renamed "Ken Kunen". Kope (talk) 08:00, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

My rule of thumb for mathematician articles is to use the name under which they habitually publish. So Steve Jackson, even though his legal name is Stephen, but Donald A. Martin, even though everyone calls him "Tony". --Trovatore (talk) 08:38, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

That is, not even redirection?Kope (talk) 09:06, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, Ken Kunen should certainly take you to the article, under whatever title is to be given it. But I think the article should probably be at Kenneth Kunen because that seems to be the name he uses in published papers. --Trovatore (talk) 21:41, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

That's what I meant, yes. Thanks. Kope (talk) 12:11, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

Death

Andrés Caicedo informs us on meta.MathOverflow that Kunen died on 14th August 2020. I can't find any other information yet. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.215.39.157 (talk) 00:50, 16 August 2020 (UTC)

I can't see any other sources to verify the information either. — Preceding unsigned comment added by IndyaShri (talk • contribs) 01:20, 16 August 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure this link technically counts as an RS, but in any case it appears to be true, unfortunately. --Trovatore (talk) 07:15, 16 August 2020 (UTC)

https://www.math.wisc.edu/node/829 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.180.137.196 (talk) 18:03, 17 August 2020 (UTC)

Should the Biography Living Person template above be removed? 218.215.39.157 (talk) 00:01, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

Connection to the Feynman Lectures on Physics

I recently came across this anecdote about Ken Kunen:

"Feynman’s classes were too hard for a majority of the students, but by no means all.. When test bluebooks were handed back, they were arranged by grade, with the best on top. The first one usually belonged to Ken Kunen, a math major who ended up doing algebraic topology at Wisconsin for many years; inside the cover would be a note from the physics department begging him to forsake math and become a physicist."

(source: https://www.quora.com/Were-Feynmans-lectures-on-physics-really-too-difficult-for-Caltech-students-back-in-the-1960s/answer/Peter-Clark-48?ch=10&share=12178e88&srid=m32nO)

Is this worth mentioning in the education section? Does the above constitute a valid source?

Given the popularity of the Feynman Lectures on Physics as undergraduate textbooks, the possibility that Kunen was one of the only students who did well by the original lecture course seems somewhat noteworthy, and I don't see it mentioned anywhere else.

Certainly not without a reliable source, and no. --JBL (talk) 23:33, 17 August 2021 (UTC)