mathematics

Michael Fekete

Michael Fekete is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael Fekete rather than just read about it. In short: Michael (Mihály) Fekete (Hebrew: מיכאל פקטה; 19 July 1886 – 13 May 1957) was a Hungarian-Israeli mathematician. Biography Michael Fekete was born in Zenta, Austria-Hungary (today Senta, Serbia).

Key takeaways

Michael Fekete belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Michael Fekete to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Michael Fekete from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael (Mihály) Fekete (Hebrew: מיכאל פקטה; 19 July 1886 – 13 May 1957) was a Hungarian-Israeli mathematician.

Biography

Michael Fekete was born in Zenta, Austria-Hungary (today Senta, Serbia). He received his PhD in 1909 from the University of Budapest (later renamed Eötvös Loránd University). He studied under Lipót Fejér. After completing his PhD he switched to University of Göttingen, which was considered a mathematics hub. In 1914, he returned to the University of Budapest, where he attained the title of Privatdozent. Fekete also worked as a private math tutor. Among his students was János Neumann. In 1922, Fekete published a paper together with Neumann on extremal polynomials, which was Neumann's first scientific paper. Fekete dedicated the majority of his scientific work to the transfinite diameter. In 1928 Fekete immigrated to Mandate Palestine and was among the first instructors of the Institute of Mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1929 he was promoted to professor, and eventually headed the institute, succeeding Edmund Landau and Adolf Abraham Halevi Fraenkel. He later became the dean of Natural Sciences, and between the years 1946–1948 he was Hebrew University Provost. Among his students were Aryeh Dvoretzky and Michael Bahir Maschler.

Awards and recognition In 1955, Fekete was awarded the Israel Prize for exact sciences.

See also Fekete problem Fekete polynomial Fekete–Szegő inequality Fekete's lemma Fekete constant

References

Literature Joseph, Anthony; Melnikov, Anna; Rentschler, Rudolf (2003). Studies in Memory of Issai Schur. New York: Springfield. ISBN 978-1-4612-0045-1. Hersh, Reuben (2015). Peter Lax, Mathematician. American Mathematical Soc. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-4704-1708-6.

External links

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael Fekete

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael Fekete claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael Fekete before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael Fekete ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael Fekete

In research: Michael Fekete appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Michael Fekete in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Michael Fekete is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1886 births, 1957 deaths, 20th-century Hungarian Jews, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Michael Fekete outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael Fekete in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Michael Fekete means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Michael Fekete out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Michael Fekete in simple terms?

Michael (Mihály) Fekete (Hebrew: מיכאל פקטה; 19 July 1886 – 13 May 1957) was a Hungarian-Israeli mathematician. Biography Michael Fekete was born in Zenta, Austria-Hungary (today Senta, Serbia).

Why does Michael Fekete matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael Fekete?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael Fekete.