Talk:Felix Hausdorff

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[edit] Re Drug-related deaths & suicides

This: "On the night of Sunday 25 January all three took barbiturates. Both Hausdorff and his wife Charlotte were dead by the morning of the 26 January." is from this: MacTutor History of Mathematics entry for Hausdorff

Michael David 11:28, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Putting him in the category makes him look as if he had died of an overdose of recreational drugs. I don't see how the fact that he used pills rather than a pistol matters. Hasdrubal 04:22, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

When the term ‘recreational’ is used in conjunction with a drug it means the drug is being used for a purpose other than for which it was prescribed. I, personally, wouldn’t categorize a drug taken with the intention of committing suicide as being ‘recreational’, but, whatever you want to call them, in the case of Hausdorff, we are stuck with the fact that this way the way he chose to commit suicide. Therefore the cause of death must be Categorized as being ‘drug-related’. I don’t believe this portrays him as a ‘recreational drug user’ but, rather, as a person who wasn’t reached in time.

Michael David 12:14, 16 May 2006 (UTC)