He probably had a sense of humor about himself, and perhaps a sense of realism too: beginning in the 1970s, when he was fifty-seven, Erdős appended the expression "P.G.O.M." to his signature, standing for Poor Great Old Man ("poor great old man"); at sixty, he added "L.D." to the initials already there, standing for Living Dead ("living dead"); at sixty-five came "A.D.", standing for Archeological Discovery ("archaeological discovery");
at seventy, he added another "L.D.", this time meaning Legally Dead ("legally dead"), so his signature was followed by "P.G.O.M.L.D.A.D.L.D."; and at seventy-five came "C.D.", standing for Counts Dead ("counts as dead").
Perhaps all this should be read in light of the fact that, in the final years of his life, he suffered from serious health problems that he did not treat very well, as he was unwilling to take time away from mathematics.
In his book, Paul Hoffman recounts these words spoken by Paul Erdős in 1987:
" … They are planning an international conference for my seventy-fifth birthday. It may have to be held in my memory. I am wretchedly old. I am really not well. I do not understand what is happening to my body—the final solution, perhaps. "
For the epitaph on his grave, he had chosen: " At last, I am no longer making myself stupider. "
