Slashdot Mirror


A (Correct) Poincare Proof!?

aphyscher writes "About a year ago, there was an announcement that M.J. Dunwoody had proved the (in)famous Poincare conjecture. His paper turned out to have a slight problem, and so it remained unsolved... until perhaps now! Sergey Nikitin has posted a preprint of what may perhaps be an actual proof."

27 of 318 comments (clear)

  1. Read the conjecture... by CommieLib · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mmmm...hypothetical donut...

    --
    If your bitterest enemies are people who hack the heads off civilians, then I would say you're doing something right.
  2. I solved it! by gerf · · Score: 4, Funny

    But alas, the space alloted in a regular comments window is insufficient to explain further...

    1. Re:I solved it! by Dr+Caleb · · Score: 3, Funny
      I got to:
      and a ? @K + K has less generators
      than M: Hence, by the assumption of mathematical induction
      a ? @K + K @(1 2 3 4 5) and consequently
      M @(1 2 3 4 5):
      The proof is completed. Q.E.D.

      before I had a seziure.

      Q.E.D. my ass! It shoulda been "Whoo hoooo!".

      --
      "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Mark Twain
  3. Ok by kenp2002 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ok so rad the pre-writeup on this and I can say this: WAY OVER MY HEAD! I understood about
    1.05E-60% of that. Holy cow. There is proof that higher education still turns out some bright people. I wish I knew what the hell all that was about, it "looks" cool. You could use that as a prop in a movie for some secret formula or something.

    --
    -=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
    1. Re:Ok by b0r0din · · Score: 5, Funny
      It's very simple, as the problem asks.

      "Consider a compact 3-dimensional manifold V without boundary. Is it possible that the fundamental group of V could be trivial, even though V is not homeomorphic to the 3-dimensional sphere?"

      What he's saying is, the...er...well, he means that the, uh...


      I fucking HATE french people.

    2. Re:Ok by Codifex+Maximus · · Score: 3, Funny

      Ok, I got to page two and hadda stop. He started in with the big sigma and I lost it.

      Hehe... gotta go back and get my advanced trigonometry and calculus credits.

      --
      Codifex Maximus ~ In search of... a shorter sig.
  4. It's sad that after reading the problem... by IvyMike · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...the most intelligent thing I can think of is: "Mmmmm...donuts."

  5. Someone throw cold water on my face by ekrout · · Score: 5, Funny

    A.) There's now a correct proof of the Poincare problem!
    B.) Jon Katz no longer posts to Slashdot!
    C.) Chris D. starts his own gaming company; plans to fill-in Part 2 of the traditional Steps 1, 2, & 3 to Profit!
    D.) Microsoft is now the largest paid advertiser on Slashdot.org, the be-all-end-all for all Open-Source/Free-Software news

    My brain needs a reboot.

    --

    If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
  6. Re:So? by jasonditz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, if you give the proof at a big university chances are you'll totally score with some PhD Math chick.

  7. Mathematical Proof by SniffleBear · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is just mathematical proof that you can wrap a rubberband around an apple. I think the rest of us would be satisfied by a videotape instead.

  8. Re:So? by GuyMannDude · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, if you give the proof at a big university chances are you'll totally score with some PhD Math chick.

    Before you guys all start dissing math chicks, remember that "mathematicans do it smoothly and continuously". I wanted to put that on a bumper sticker and slap it on my car but I went with "My girlfriend can't wrestle but you should see her box" instead.

    GMD

  9. FINALLY!! by paradoxmember · · Score: 5, Funny

    wow.. finally.. i can sleep at night!!

  10. My proof by PygmyTrojan · · Score: 3, Funny
    Every simply connected closed 3-manifold is homeomorphic to the 3-sphere

    Well, duh.

    --

    Trying is the first step towards failure.

  11. Beam me up by tiredwired · · Score: 2, Funny

    Finally I can complete the warp engine. We shall fly through space like a rubber band flung from the surface of a sphere. Evil donuts beware. Why do Brits say maths instead of just math?

  12. Poincare Gnomes! by i_need_no_nick · · Score: 2, Funny
    Phase 1: Prove Poincare Conjuncture

    Phase 2: Collect Clay Math Prize

    Phase 3: Profit

    Now *there's* a business model!

  13. I thought they did it by wiredog · · Score: 5, Funny

    discretely.

    1. Re:I thought they did it by cperciva · · Score: 5, Funny

      discretely

      Or, more specifically, in groups, and in fields.

  14. Re:So? by simong_oz · · Score: 2, Funny

    remember that "mathematicans do it smoothly and continuously"

    Heh, I got that beat hands down - I'm a tribologist.

    Tribology = study of friction, wear and lubrication

    What's more, my specialisation is biotribology (lubrication mostly) - tribology applied to biological systems. I'm sure you can see where this is headed ...

    --
    "Because it's there." - George Mallory, when asked why he wanted to climb Mt Everest, March 18, 1923 (New York Times)
  15. Re:So? by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Archimedes invented the screw pump while taking a bath

    Actually, it's a bit more logical than that. He discovered the principal of displacement while taking a bath.

    I'm not exactly sure how one would think of "screw pumps" while in the bath. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I don't want to know.

    --
    Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
  16. having said that... by Patersmith · · Score: 2, Funny


    How do we use this to take down the RIAA/MPAA?

  17. Smash-O-Matic by pixelpusher220 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Gallagher could reduce both an apple and a donut to a point...with just one swing!

    --
    People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people :-D
  18. What's "uniform density"? by yerricde · · Score: 2, Funny

    Aye, as most objects of uniform density do :)

    Doesn't "uniform density" mean "as opposed to something like swiss cheese"? I was talking about holes as in donut, not holes as in swiss cheese or holes as in IIS. Can a torus have a uniform density?

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  19. Re:Poincare Conjecture by Viking+Coder · · Score: 5, Funny

    Frink: Well, it should be obvious to even the most dim-witted individual who holds an advanced degree in hyperbolic topology, n'gee, that Homer Simpson has stumbled into...[the lights go off] the third dimension.

    Lisa: [turning the lights back on] Sorry.

    Frink: [drawing on a blackboard] Here is an ordinary square --

    Wiggum: Whoa, whoa -- slow down, egghead!

    Frink: -- but suppose we extend the square beyond the two dimensions of our universe - along the hypothetical Z axis, there.

    Everyone: [gasps]

    Frink: This forms a three-dimensional object known as a "cube", or a "Frinkahedron" in honor of its discoverer, n'hey, n'hey.

    --
    Education is the silver bullet.
  20. The real 1-2-3 steps by Rayonic · · Score: 3, Funny
    From what I've read of these scientific papers, I've been able to divine the actual list:

    • Step 1) Prove that it is possible that a fundamental group of 3-dimensional manifolds (V) could be trivial, even though V is not homeomorphic to the 3-dimensional sphere.

      Step 2) ??????

      Step 3) ????????
  21. Visualizing a 3-D Sphere by sisukapalli1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    A mathematician was once asked about how he could visualize a 3-D Sphere. His response was, "Simple! First visualize an n-D Sphere and then set n to 3".

    Read this a while ago somewhere. Couldn't resist posting it.

    S

  22. The answer... by 241comp · · Score: 2, Funny

    Actually, all the article says is that they have finally realized that Douglas Adams is right.... the last line of the proof is:

    = 42

  23. Anagrams! (Someone had to do it) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    The Poincare Conjecture and the issues surrounding it can be described using nothing but anagrams of the famous mathematicians name.

    IE NO CRAP

    Poincare was A NICE PRO by the standards of the time. I wish I had A COIN PER attempt to prove his theorem! Believe me, its NO PI RACE

    I'd ususally begin with a topological approach.
    Take a tennis ball and try to ARC ONE PI around the circumference, then PAIR ONCE.

    Getting too hard, need to go home to use super-computer.

    I OPEN CAR and drive home. ARE I PC ON? Click on PEAR ICON to load fruity maths app.

    Finally prove the theorem!

    I RAP ONCE and then REAP COIN.

    Thats all, I NO RECAP

    Sorry, someone had to do it!

    I. PORN ACE