Mariaahh

They would start about 9 P.M. when Tarski was just getting going. He always smoked, and he kept the door of his study closed so the smoke would stay in the room because he thought that made him concentrate better. “It was awful for me,” Chang said, “because I had asthma, but what could I do? I was his student. I wasn’t really a night person either and after a while it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. Around 2 A.M. he’d ask me if I wanted some coffee and I’d say yes. Sitting at his desk, with the door closed, he’d scream, ‘Mariaahh, Mariaahh,’, as loud as he could. If there was no answer, he’d repeat it, sometimes three or four times until Maria finally opened the door, half asleep, saying ‘Yes, Alfred?’ He’d ask her to bring us two cups of coffee and she trudged into the kitchen to make the coffee and bring it to us. I’ve never seen anything like it before or after.”

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One of the many many many amazing stories from the “Alfred Tarski. Life and logic” by Anita and Solomon Feferman