mathematics

Tamás Szőnyi

Tamás Szőnyi 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 Tamás Szőnyi rather than just read about it. In short: Tamás Szőnyi (born July 23, 1957, Budapest) is a Hungarian mathematician, doing research in discrete mathematics, particularly finite geometry and algebraic coding theory. He is full professor at the department of computer science of the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, where he headed the department from 2004 to 2009 and was director of the Institute of Mathematics from 2014 to 2017.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Tamás Szőnyi (born July 23, 1957, Budapest) is a Hungarian mathematician, doing research in discrete mathematics, particularly finite geometry and algebraic coding theory. He is full professor at the department of computer science of the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, where he headed the department from 2004 to 2009 and was director of the Institute of Mathematics from 2014 to 2017. He was vice chairman of the mathematical committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 2006 to 2011. He received the candidate's degree in 1991 under László Lovász and the Doctor of Science title from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2001. Szőnyi created a successful school in finite geometry at ELTE, for which he received the Szele Tibor Memorial Medal of the János Bolyai Mathematical Society in 2013. He has done influential work on blocking sets and the polynomial method, including the resultant method developed with Zsuzsa Weiner. He was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit in 2012 and the Széchenyi Prize in 2020.

Notes

External links Homepage of Tamás Szőnyi page of the finite geometry research group members of the mathematical committee of the HAS

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tamás Szőnyi

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tamás Szőnyi 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 Tamás Szőnyi 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 Tamás Szőnyi 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 Tamás Szőnyi

In research: Tamás Szőnyi 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 Tamás Szőnyi 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: Tamás Szőnyi is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1957 births, 20th-century Hungarian mathematicians, 21st-century Hungarian mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tamás Szőnyi 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 Tamás Szőnyi in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tamás Szőnyi 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 Tamás Szőnyi out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tamás Szőnyi in simple terms?

Why does Tamás Szőnyi 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 Tamás Szőnyi?

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 Tamás Szőnyi.