Scottish Book

The Scottish Book (Polish Księga Szkocka ) was a thick booklet, which the Lviv mathematicians who very often in the 'Scottish cafe " met, served to record still unsolved mathematical problems. First, they wrote down the formulas on paper napkins, and also lack of napkins directly on the marble table tops, which kept the dresser until the next meeting, but finally bought the wife of Professor Stefan Banach one book one that has survived the Second World War, happy and now owned by the family is located in Germany.

The book was made ​​1935-1941, until the invasion of Nazi troops in June 1941 concluded dash. In the book 193 math problems were noted, including fundamental questions about the functional analysis, as well as simple puzzles.

The book was kept by the dresser in the cloakroom. For the solution of the problems a live goose was donated as a prize. The prize was awarded to the young Swedish mathematician Per Enflo.

Professor Stanisław Mazur Stanisław Ulam agreed with from the summer of 1939, that in case of war, the book is buried in a box. It is not clear whether this actually took place, but the only certainty is that the wife of Professor Banach Łucja in the forced relocation in 1945, the book brought from Lviv to Warsaw. After the war, Professor Ulam obtained a copy of the book.

In Breslau was a 1945-1948 "New Scottish Book " was led by the former Lvov mathematicians.