Andrew:

There is only one kind of beret an honest man is ever seen wearing.

As a Brit, you

should know that.

When I was going round asking mathematicians about the Riemann Hypothesis,

every time I mentioned de Branges, they broke out in smiles. “Don’t touch

him with a barge pole,” was the consensus of advice. So I didn’t; though I

did give him credit — which he richly deserves — for proving the

Bieberbach Conjecture (p.383 of Prime Obsession).