What are some noteworthy “mic-drop” moments in math?Philosophy behind Yitang Zhang's work on the Twin Primes ConjectureHow did Cole factor $2^67-1$ in 1903What are some slogans that express mathematical tricks?What are some good resources for mathematical translation?What are some famous rejections of correct mathematics?What are some applications of other fields to mathematics?What are some good group theory references?What are some mathematical sculptures?Noteworthy achievements in and around 2010? What are some Applications of Teichmüller Theory?What are some deep theorems, and why are they considered deep?Higher Moments, what are they good for?
What are some noteworthy “mic-drop” moments in math?
Philosophy behind Yitang Zhang's work on the Twin Primes ConjectureHow did Cole factor $2^67-1$ in 1903What are some slogans that express mathematical tricks?What are some good resources for mathematical translation?What are some famous rejections of correct mathematics?What are some applications of other fields to mathematics?What are some good group theory references?What are some mathematical sculptures?Noteworthy achievements in and around 2010? What are some Applications of Teichmüller Theory?What are some deep theorems, and why are they considered deep?Higher Moments, what are they good for?
$begingroup$
Oftentimes in math the manner in which a solution to a problem is announced becomes a significant chapter/part of the lore associated with the problem, almost being remembered more than the manner in which the problem was solved. I think that most mathematicians as a whole, even upon solving major open problems, are an extremely humble lot. But as an outsider I appreciate the understated manner in which some results are dropped.
The very recent example that inspired this question:
- Andrew Booker's recent solution to $a^3+b^3+c^3=33$ with $(a,b,c)inmathbbZ^3$ as $$(a,b,c)=(8866128975287528,-8778405442862239,-2736111468807040)$$ was publicized on Tim Browning's homepage. However the homepage has merely a single, austere line, and does not even indicate that this is/was a semi-famous open problem. Nor was there any indication that the cubes actually sum to $33$, apparently leaving it as an exercise for the reader.
Other examples that come to mind include:
- In 1976 after Appel and Hakken had proved the Four Color Theorem, Appel wrote on the University of Illinois' math department blackboard "Modulo careful checking, it appears that four colors suffice." The statement "Four Colors Suffice" was used as the stamp for the University of Illinois at least around 1976.
- In 1697 Newton famously offered an "anonymous solution" to the Royal Society to the Brachistochrone problem that took him a mere evening/sleepless night to resolve. I think the story is noteworthy also because Johanne Bernoulli is said "recognized the lion by his claw."
- As close to a literal "mic-drop" as I can think of, after noting in his 1993 lectures that Fermat's Last Theorem was a mere corollary of the work presented, Andrew Wiles famously ended his lecture by stating "I think I'll stop here."
What are other noteworthy examples of such announcements in math that are, in some sense, memorable for being understated? Say to an outsider in the field?
Watson and Crick's famous ending of their DNA paper, "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material," has a bit of the same understated feel...
soft-question big-list
$endgroup$
|
show 1 more comment
$begingroup$
Oftentimes in math the manner in which a solution to a problem is announced becomes a significant chapter/part of the lore associated with the problem, almost being remembered more than the manner in which the problem was solved. I think that most mathematicians as a whole, even upon solving major open problems, are an extremely humble lot. But as an outsider I appreciate the understated manner in which some results are dropped.
The very recent example that inspired this question:
- Andrew Booker's recent solution to $a^3+b^3+c^3=33$ with $(a,b,c)inmathbbZ^3$ as $$(a,b,c)=(8866128975287528,-8778405442862239,-2736111468807040)$$ was publicized on Tim Browning's homepage. However the homepage has merely a single, austere line, and does not even indicate that this is/was a semi-famous open problem. Nor was there any indication that the cubes actually sum to $33$, apparently leaving it as an exercise for the reader.
Other examples that come to mind include:
- In 1976 after Appel and Hakken had proved the Four Color Theorem, Appel wrote on the University of Illinois' math department blackboard "Modulo careful checking, it appears that four colors suffice." The statement "Four Colors Suffice" was used as the stamp for the University of Illinois at least around 1976.
- In 1697 Newton famously offered an "anonymous solution" to the Royal Society to the Brachistochrone problem that took him a mere evening/sleepless night to resolve. I think the story is noteworthy also because Johanne Bernoulli is said "recognized the lion by his claw."
- As close to a literal "mic-drop" as I can think of, after noting in his 1993 lectures that Fermat's Last Theorem was a mere corollary of the work presented, Andrew Wiles famously ended his lecture by stating "I think I'll stop here."
What are other noteworthy examples of such announcements in math that are, in some sense, memorable for being understated? Say to an outsider in the field?
Watson and Crick's famous ending of their DNA paper, "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material," has a bit of the same understated feel...
soft-question big-list
$endgroup$
3
$begingroup$
The tale about Cole seems to have no basis in fact and was just a legend propagated by E. T. Bell, who was a former PhD student of Cole. Cole did have a real method of discovering the factorization (the answers to mathoverflow.net/questions/207321/… include a link to Cole's article) and it was not the "three years of Sundays" that Bell wrote. I therefore don't think the Cole story should be among your examples.
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
3
$begingroup$
The example of how Ramanujan's results came to the attention of Hardy and Littlewood is fairly well documented, and would be a better choice than Cole's "story".
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
2
$begingroup$
I'd say Yitang Zhang's submission in 2013 was pretty understated. Gerhard "Would This Be An Example?" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
$endgroup$
– Gerhard Paseman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
"etched" suggests to me an irreversible change to the blackboard. Other sources give different accounts. Robin Wilson, Four Colors Suffice, writes, "He celebrated their achievement by placing a notice on the department's blackboard...." Steven Miller, Mathematics of Optimization, writes, "Appel famously celebrated this achievement by writing the words ... on the blackboard...."
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
2
$begingroup$
Tim Browning announced the three-cubes solution, but it seems that he was reporting on work of Andrew Booker, see gilkalai.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/… and people.maths.bris.ac.uk/~maarb/papers/cubesv1.pdf
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
|
show 1 more comment
$begingroup$
Oftentimes in math the manner in which a solution to a problem is announced becomes a significant chapter/part of the lore associated with the problem, almost being remembered more than the manner in which the problem was solved. I think that most mathematicians as a whole, even upon solving major open problems, are an extremely humble lot. But as an outsider I appreciate the understated manner in which some results are dropped.
The very recent example that inspired this question:
- Andrew Booker's recent solution to $a^3+b^3+c^3=33$ with $(a,b,c)inmathbbZ^3$ as $$(a,b,c)=(8866128975287528,-8778405442862239,-2736111468807040)$$ was publicized on Tim Browning's homepage. However the homepage has merely a single, austere line, and does not even indicate that this is/was a semi-famous open problem. Nor was there any indication that the cubes actually sum to $33$, apparently leaving it as an exercise for the reader.
Other examples that come to mind include:
- In 1976 after Appel and Hakken had proved the Four Color Theorem, Appel wrote on the University of Illinois' math department blackboard "Modulo careful checking, it appears that four colors suffice." The statement "Four Colors Suffice" was used as the stamp for the University of Illinois at least around 1976.
- In 1697 Newton famously offered an "anonymous solution" to the Royal Society to the Brachistochrone problem that took him a mere evening/sleepless night to resolve. I think the story is noteworthy also because Johanne Bernoulli is said "recognized the lion by his claw."
- As close to a literal "mic-drop" as I can think of, after noting in his 1993 lectures that Fermat's Last Theorem was a mere corollary of the work presented, Andrew Wiles famously ended his lecture by stating "I think I'll stop here."
What are other noteworthy examples of such announcements in math that are, in some sense, memorable for being understated? Say to an outsider in the field?
Watson and Crick's famous ending of their DNA paper, "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material," has a bit of the same understated feel...
soft-question big-list
$endgroup$
Oftentimes in math the manner in which a solution to a problem is announced becomes a significant chapter/part of the lore associated with the problem, almost being remembered more than the manner in which the problem was solved. I think that most mathematicians as a whole, even upon solving major open problems, are an extremely humble lot. But as an outsider I appreciate the understated manner in which some results are dropped.
The very recent example that inspired this question:
- Andrew Booker's recent solution to $a^3+b^3+c^3=33$ with $(a,b,c)inmathbbZ^3$ as $$(a,b,c)=(8866128975287528,-8778405442862239,-2736111468807040)$$ was publicized on Tim Browning's homepage. However the homepage has merely a single, austere line, and does not even indicate that this is/was a semi-famous open problem. Nor was there any indication that the cubes actually sum to $33$, apparently leaving it as an exercise for the reader.
Other examples that come to mind include:
- In 1976 after Appel and Hakken had proved the Four Color Theorem, Appel wrote on the University of Illinois' math department blackboard "Modulo careful checking, it appears that four colors suffice." The statement "Four Colors Suffice" was used as the stamp for the University of Illinois at least around 1976.
- In 1697 Newton famously offered an "anonymous solution" to the Royal Society to the Brachistochrone problem that took him a mere evening/sleepless night to resolve. I think the story is noteworthy also because Johanne Bernoulli is said "recognized the lion by his claw."
- As close to a literal "mic-drop" as I can think of, after noting in his 1993 lectures that Fermat's Last Theorem was a mere corollary of the work presented, Andrew Wiles famously ended his lecture by stating "I think I'll stop here."
What are other noteworthy examples of such announcements in math that are, in some sense, memorable for being understated? Say to an outsider in the field?
Watson and Crick's famous ending of their DNA paper, "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material," has a bit of the same understated feel...
soft-question big-list
soft-question big-list
edited 18 mins ago
community wiki
7 revs
Mark S
3
$begingroup$
The tale about Cole seems to have no basis in fact and was just a legend propagated by E. T. Bell, who was a former PhD student of Cole. Cole did have a real method of discovering the factorization (the answers to mathoverflow.net/questions/207321/… include a link to Cole's article) and it was not the "three years of Sundays" that Bell wrote. I therefore don't think the Cole story should be among your examples.
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
3
$begingroup$
The example of how Ramanujan's results came to the attention of Hardy and Littlewood is fairly well documented, and would be a better choice than Cole's "story".
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
2
$begingroup$
I'd say Yitang Zhang's submission in 2013 was pretty understated. Gerhard "Would This Be An Example?" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
$endgroup$
– Gerhard Paseman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
"etched" suggests to me an irreversible change to the blackboard. Other sources give different accounts. Robin Wilson, Four Colors Suffice, writes, "He celebrated their achievement by placing a notice on the department's blackboard...." Steven Miller, Mathematics of Optimization, writes, "Appel famously celebrated this achievement by writing the words ... on the blackboard...."
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
2
$begingroup$
Tim Browning announced the three-cubes solution, but it seems that he was reporting on work of Andrew Booker, see gilkalai.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/… and people.maths.bris.ac.uk/~maarb/papers/cubesv1.pdf
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
|
show 1 more comment
3
$begingroup$
The tale about Cole seems to have no basis in fact and was just a legend propagated by E. T. Bell, who was a former PhD student of Cole. Cole did have a real method of discovering the factorization (the answers to mathoverflow.net/questions/207321/… include a link to Cole's article) and it was not the "three years of Sundays" that Bell wrote. I therefore don't think the Cole story should be among your examples.
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
3
$begingroup$
The example of how Ramanujan's results came to the attention of Hardy and Littlewood is fairly well documented, and would be a better choice than Cole's "story".
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
2
$begingroup$
I'd say Yitang Zhang's submission in 2013 was pretty understated. Gerhard "Would This Be An Example?" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
$endgroup$
– Gerhard Paseman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
"etched" suggests to me an irreversible change to the blackboard. Other sources give different accounts. Robin Wilson, Four Colors Suffice, writes, "He celebrated their achievement by placing a notice on the department's blackboard...." Steven Miller, Mathematics of Optimization, writes, "Appel famously celebrated this achievement by writing the words ... on the blackboard...."
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
2
$begingroup$
Tim Browning announced the three-cubes solution, but it seems that he was reporting on work of Andrew Booker, see gilkalai.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/… and people.maths.bris.ac.uk/~maarb/papers/cubesv1.pdf
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
3
3
$begingroup$
The tale about Cole seems to have no basis in fact and was just a legend propagated by E. T. Bell, who was a former PhD student of Cole. Cole did have a real method of discovering the factorization (the answers to mathoverflow.net/questions/207321/… include a link to Cole's article) and it was not the "three years of Sundays" that Bell wrote. I therefore don't think the Cole story should be among your examples.
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
The tale about Cole seems to have no basis in fact and was just a legend propagated by E. T. Bell, who was a former PhD student of Cole. Cole did have a real method of discovering the factorization (the answers to mathoverflow.net/questions/207321/… include a link to Cole's article) and it was not the "three years of Sundays" that Bell wrote. I therefore don't think the Cole story should be among your examples.
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
3
3
$begingroup$
The example of how Ramanujan's results came to the attention of Hardy and Littlewood is fairly well documented, and would be a better choice than Cole's "story".
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
The example of how Ramanujan's results came to the attention of Hardy and Littlewood is fairly well documented, and would be a better choice than Cole's "story".
$endgroup$
– KConrad
2 hours ago
2
2
$begingroup$
I'd say Yitang Zhang's submission in 2013 was pretty understated. Gerhard "Would This Be An Example?" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
$endgroup$
– Gerhard Paseman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
I'd say Yitang Zhang's submission in 2013 was pretty understated. Gerhard "Would This Be An Example?" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
$endgroup$
– Gerhard Paseman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
"etched" suggests to me an irreversible change to the blackboard. Other sources give different accounts. Robin Wilson, Four Colors Suffice, writes, "He celebrated their achievement by placing a notice on the department's blackboard...." Steven Miller, Mathematics of Optimization, writes, "Appel famously celebrated this achievement by writing the words ... on the blackboard...."
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
"etched" suggests to me an irreversible change to the blackboard. Other sources give different accounts. Robin Wilson, Four Colors Suffice, writes, "He celebrated their achievement by placing a notice on the department's blackboard...." Steven Miller, Mathematics of Optimization, writes, "Appel famously celebrated this achievement by writing the words ... on the blackboard...."
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
2
2
$begingroup$
Tim Browning announced the three-cubes solution, but it seems that he was reporting on work of Andrew Booker, see gilkalai.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/… and people.maths.bris.ac.uk/~maarb/papers/cubesv1.pdf
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
Tim Browning announced the three-cubes solution, but it seems that he was reporting on work of Andrew Booker, see gilkalai.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/… and people.maths.bris.ac.uk/~maarb/papers/cubesv1.pdf
$endgroup$
– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
|
show 1 more comment
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
The best known lower bound for the minimal length of superpermutations was announced by an anonymous user of a wiki mainly devoted to anime.
The story is told at Mystery Math Whiz and Novelist Advance Permutation Problem, and the publication is at A lower bound on the length of the shortest superpattern, with "Anonymous 4chan Poster" as the first author.
$endgroup$
2
$begingroup$
Also: a new superpermutation of 7 symbols, shorter than any that was known at the time (8907 symbols long), was posted as a pseudonymous comment on YouTube in February 2019.
$endgroup$
– Robin Houston
1 hour ago
4
$begingroup$
"Mainly devoted to anime" is a rather kind way to put it.. ;-)
$endgroup$
– R..
49 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I consider this manner as a mark of a professional mathematician: let others convey the excitement of a discovery. A good recent example was the submission of a paper on bounded gaps between primes. Much of the public excitement was generated by people other than the author, Yitang Zhang.
Gerhard "Can Be Excited In Private" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I especially like his understated comment that "I believe one could make it sharper" when asked if he thought $k<70,000,000$ could be reduced.
$endgroup$
– Mark S
1 min ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Applications of algebra to a problem in topology (YouTube) at Atiyah80 was a talk by Mike Hopkins. In it he announced the solution to the Kervaire invariant one problem in all but one dimension (arXiv, Annals).
$endgroup$
add a comment |
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
The best known lower bound for the minimal length of superpermutations was announced by an anonymous user of a wiki mainly devoted to anime.
The story is told at Mystery Math Whiz and Novelist Advance Permutation Problem, and the publication is at A lower bound on the length of the shortest superpattern, with "Anonymous 4chan Poster" as the first author.
$endgroup$
2
$begingroup$
Also: a new superpermutation of 7 symbols, shorter than any that was known at the time (8907 symbols long), was posted as a pseudonymous comment on YouTube in February 2019.
$endgroup$
– Robin Houston
1 hour ago
4
$begingroup$
"Mainly devoted to anime" is a rather kind way to put it.. ;-)
$endgroup$
– R..
49 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The best known lower bound for the minimal length of superpermutations was announced by an anonymous user of a wiki mainly devoted to anime.
The story is told at Mystery Math Whiz and Novelist Advance Permutation Problem, and the publication is at A lower bound on the length of the shortest superpattern, with "Anonymous 4chan Poster" as the first author.
$endgroup$
2
$begingroup$
Also: a new superpermutation of 7 symbols, shorter than any that was known at the time (8907 symbols long), was posted as a pseudonymous comment on YouTube in February 2019.
$endgroup$
– Robin Houston
1 hour ago
4
$begingroup$
"Mainly devoted to anime" is a rather kind way to put it.. ;-)
$endgroup$
– R..
49 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The best known lower bound for the minimal length of superpermutations was announced by an anonymous user of a wiki mainly devoted to anime.
The story is told at Mystery Math Whiz and Novelist Advance Permutation Problem, and the publication is at A lower bound on the length of the shortest superpattern, with "Anonymous 4chan Poster" as the first author.
$endgroup$
The best known lower bound for the minimal length of superpermutations was announced by an anonymous user of a wiki mainly devoted to anime.
The story is told at Mystery Math Whiz and Novelist Advance Permutation Problem, and the publication is at A lower bound on the length of the shortest superpattern, with "Anonymous 4chan Poster" as the first author.
answered 2 hours ago
community wiki
Carlo Beenakker
2
$begingroup$
Also: a new superpermutation of 7 symbols, shorter than any that was known at the time (8907 symbols long), was posted as a pseudonymous comment on YouTube in February 2019.
$endgroup$
– Robin Houston
1 hour ago
4
$begingroup$
"Mainly devoted to anime" is a rather kind way to put it.. ;-)
$endgroup$
– R..
49 mins ago
add a comment |
2
$begingroup$
Also: a new superpermutation of 7 symbols, shorter than any that was known at the time (8907 symbols long), was posted as a pseudonymous comment on YouTube in February 2019.
$endgroup$
– Robin Houston
1 hour ago
4
$begingroup$
"Mainly devoted to anime" is a rather kind way to put it.. ;-)
$endgroup$
– R..
49 mins ago
2
2
$begingroup$
Also: a new superpermutation of 7 symbols, shorter than any that was known at the time (8907 symbols long), was posted as a pseudonymous comment on YouTube in February 2019.
$endgroup$
– Robin Houston
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
Also: a new superpermutation of 7 symbols, shorter than any that was known at the time (8907 symbols long), was posted as a pseudonymous comment on YouTube in February 2019.
$endgroup$
– Robin Houston
1 hour ago
4
4
$begingroup$
"Mainly devoted to anime" is a rather kind way to put it.. ;-)
$endgroup$
– R..
49 mins ago
$begingroup$
"Mainly devoted to anime" is a rather kind way to put it.. ;-)
$endgroup$
– R..
49 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I consider this manner as a mark of a professional mathematician: let others convey the excitement of a discovery. A good recent example was the submission of a paper on bounded gaps between primes. Much of the public excitement was generated by people other than the author, Yitang Zhang.
Gerhard "Can Be Excited In Private" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I especially like his understated comment that "I believe one could make it sharper" when asked if he thought $k<70,000,000$ could be reduced.
$endgroup$
– Mark S
1 min ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I consider this manner as a mark of a professional mathematician: let others convey the excitement of a discovery. A good recent example was the submission of a paper on bounded gaps between primes. Much of the public excitement was generated by people other than the author, Yitang Zhang.
Gerhard "Can Be Excited In Private" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I especially like his understated comment that "I believe one could make it sharper" when asked if he thought $k<70,000,000$ could be reduced.
$endgroup$
– Mark S
1 min ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I consider this manner as a mark of a professional mathematician: let others convey the excitement of a discovery. A good recent example was the submission of a paper on bounded gaps between primes. Much of the public excitement was generated by people other than the author, Yitang Zhang.
Gerhard "Can Be Excited In Private" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
$endgroup$
I consider this manner as a mark of a professional mathematician: let others convey the excitement of a discovery. A good recent example was the submission of a paper on bounded gaps between primes. Much of the public excitement was generated by people other than the author, Yitang Zhang.
Gerhard "Can Be Excited In Private" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
answered 2 hours ago
community wiki
Gerhard Paseman
$begingroup$
I especially like his understated comment that "I believe one could make it sharper" when asked if he thought $k<70,000,000$ could be reduced.
$endgroup$
– Mark S
1 min ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I especially like his understated comment that "I believe one could make it sharper" when asked if he thought $k<70,000,000$ could be reduced.
$endgroup$
– Mark S
1 min ago
$begingroup$
I especially like his understated comment that "I believe one could make it sharper" when asked if he thought $k<70,000,000$ could be reduced.
$endgroup$
– Mark S
1 min ago
$begingroup$
I especially like his understated comment that "I believe one could make it sharper" when asked if he thought $k<70,000,000$ could be reduced.
$endgroup$
– Mark S
1 min ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Applications of algebra to a problem in topology (YouTube) at Atiyah80 was a talk by Mike Hopkins. In it he announced the solution to the Kervaire invariant one problem in all but one dimension (arXiv, Annals).
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Applications of algebra to a problem in topology (YouTube) at Atiyah80 was a talk by Mike Hopkins. In it he announced the solution to the Kervaire invariant one problem in all but one dimension (arXiv, Annals).
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Applications of algebra to a problem in topology (YouTube) at Atiyah80 was a talk by Mike Hopkins. In it he announced the solution to the Kervaire invariant one problem in all but one dimension (arXiv, Annals).
$endgroup$
Applications of algebra to a problem in topology (YouTube) at Atiyah80 was a talk by Mike Hopkins. In it he announced the solution to the Kervaire invariant one problem in all but one dimension (arXiv, Annals).
answered 29 mins ago
community wiki
David Roberts
add a comment |
add a comment |
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-big-list, soft-question
3
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The tale about Cole seems to have no basis in fact and was just a legend propagated by E. T. Bell, who was a former PhD student of Cole. Cole did have a real method of discovering the factorization (the answers to mathoverflow.net/questions/207321/… include a link to Cole's article) and it was not the "three years of Sundays" that Bell wrote. I therefore don't think the Cole story should be among your examples.
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– KConrad
2 hours ago
3
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The example of how Ramanujan's results came to the attention of Hardy and Littlewood is fairly well documented, and would be a better choice than Cole's "story".
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– KConrad
2 hours ago
2
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I'd say Yitang Zhang's submission in 2013 was pretty understated. Gerhard "Would This Be An Example?" Paseman, 2019.03.10.
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– Gerhard Paseman
2 hours ago
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"etched" suggests to me an irreversible change to the blackboard. Other sources give different accounts. Robin Wilson, Four Colors Suffice, writes, "He celebrated their achievement by placing a notice on the department's blackboard...." Steven Miller, Mathematics of Optimization, writes, "Appel famously celebrated this achievement by writing the words ... on the blackboard...."
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– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago
2
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Tim Browning announced the three-cubes solution, but it seems that he was reporting on work of Andrew Booker, see gilkalai.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/… and people.maths.bris.ac.uk/~maarb/papers/cubesv1.pdf
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– Gerry Myerson
1 hour ago