laughedatbytime Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Piece of cake, right? Want to make a quick million? All you have to do is figure out a little math problem that goes like this: A^x + B^y = C^z. Simple algebra, right? Oh how deceptively innocuous a few elementary variables can seem. You’re actually looking at something inspired by one of the great mysteries of mathematics, known as Fermat’s Last Theorem and named after the 17th century French lawyer and mathematician Pierre de Fermat. Fermat came up with his own theorem back in 1637, scribbling it in the margins of his copy of the Greek text Arithmetica by Diophantus and surmising that — put your math caps on and buckle up — if n were an integer greater than 2, then the equation X^n + Y^n = Z^n has no positive integral solutions. The note was discovered after Fermat’s death, and it took over 350 years and untold failed attempts by others for someone to prove the theorem. In 1995, British mathematician Andrew Wiles, who’d been fascinated with the theorem since he was a child, finally got the job done, having puzzled over it in secret for roughly six years. That’s where Texas billionaire D. Andrew Beal comes in. In 1993, he posited a closely related number theory problem hence dubbed Beal’s Conjecture (that first A-B-C equation above), where the only solution is possible when A, B and C have a common numerical factor. Beal’s been trying to solve his theorem ever since, reports ABC News, offering cash rewards in steadily increasing amounts — $5,000 in 1997, $100,000 in 2000 – to anyone with the knack to get the job done. The prize total in 2013: $1 million, which is either a sign of Beal’s magnanimity or his skepticism that it’s actually possible. (Since Beal is worth a reported $8 billion, there’s little need to worry about whether he’ll actually pay the winner.) It’s apparently not just about the money for Beal, either: In a statement, he said “I’d like to inspire young people to pursue math and science. Increasing the prize is a good way to draw attention to mathematics generally … I hope many more young people will find themselves drawn into the wonderful world of mathematics.” Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/06/11/solve-this-math-problem-win-a-million-bucks/#ixzz2VxUNIKSO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus 2112 Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 The answer is 42 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) Isn't there also a handsome reward for anyone who proves Reimann's Hypothesis? I will never win any math prizes, as I suck at it. Edited June 12, 2013 by Mara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) Dang, I suck at maths.......... Edit to add: thanks for the tag, LABT..! :) Edited June 12, 2013 by Babycat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Principled Man Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 I reread the Terms of Service here at TRF. It says explicitly that we don't have to do any math..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apetersvt Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Is the answer 2112? I'm good at math, but not that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenJennings Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHQTcuskl3k 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILSnwdog Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Isn't there also a handsome reward for anyone who proves Reimann's Hypothesis? I will never win any math prizes, as I suck at it.Is this your receipt? :)http://memez.s3.amazonaws.com/gallery/image/notes3.jpg 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 That's me out, I suck at math. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Is it 1-0-0-1-0-0-1..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CygnusGal Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Isn't there also a handsome reward for anyone who proves Reimann's Hypothesis? I will never win any math prizes, as I suck at it.Is this your receipt? :)http://memez.s3.amazonaws.com/gallery/image/notes3.jpgThat's bistro math ... see: billybobjoe1881's ultimate answer And so it was only with the advent of pocket computers that the startling truth became finally apparent, and it was this: Numbers written on restaurant checks within the confines of restaurants do not follow the same mathematical laws as numbers written on any other pieces of paper in any other parts of the Universe. This single statement took the scientific world by storm. It completely revolutionized it. So many mathematical conferences got held in such good restaurants that many of the finest minds of a generation died of obesity and heart failure and the science of math was put back by years. Slowly, however, the implications of the idea began to be understood. To begin with it had been too stark, too crazy, too much like what the man in the street would have said "Oh, yes, I could have told you that." Then some phrases like "Interactive Subjectivity Frameworks" were invented, and everybody was able to relax and get on with it. Thus spake Adams. I added the bold, if I may be so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowdogged Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'm going to win for sure! I am just going to submit every number that there is. Where do numbers end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Ways Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 This thread will help improve the image the general public has of the average rush fan. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted June 13, 2013 Author Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'm going to win for sure! I am just going to submit every number that there is. Where do numbers end? The answer's not a number, it's a proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowdogged Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'm going to win for sure! I am just going to submit every number that there is. Where do numbers end? The answer's not a number, it's a proof.Then I'm going to give all the proofs! What's a proof? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted June 13, 2013 Author Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'm going to win for sure! I am just going to submit every number that there is. Where do numbers end? The answer's not a number, it's a proof.Then I'm going to give all the proofs! What's a proof? Stay at a Holiday Inn Express...it might come to you... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Is it twelvety?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 I'm going to win for sure! I am just going to submit every number that there is. Where do numbers end? The answer's not a number, it's a proof.Then I'm going to give all the proofs! What's a proof? About 5.3% vol..? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate2112 Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 Eleventy Six Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USB Connector Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 (edited) I'm going to win for sure! I am just going to submit every number that there is. Where do numbers end? The answer's not a number, it's a proof.Then I'm going to give all the proofs! What's a proof? x = y y? because I said so. x = yQED I'd like my million in unmarked hundred dollar bills please. Edited June 17, 2013 by USB Connector 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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