What is the most important trouble in maths ?
David Hilbert remember he knew . On August 8 , 1900 , at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris , he announced his definitive23 problemsthat would number to predominate mathematical research for the next hundred .
One hundred year afterward , pay homage to Hilbert in thebest numerical tradition , the Clay Mathematical Insitute announced theMillennium Prize problem : seven of the most unmanageable problems still fudge mathematician at the turn of the millenary . These problem were so crucial that solving any one would win a mathematician$1 million , yet even with this incentive , only onehas been cracked so far .
A good candidate for the most authoritative job in mathematics , then , might be something that made both of these landmark lists . And it just so happens there ’s one that fits the nib : theRiemann speculation .
" call for any professional mathematician what the unmarried most important open job in the entire field is,“wrotemathematician Keith Devlin in 1998,“and you are almost sure to find the solution ' the Riemann Hypothesis ' " .
And now , there ’s a rumor circulating that this 160 - year - honest-to-goodness mega - problem might finally be solve – by British - Lebanese geometer Sir Michael Atiyah .
First conjectured by Bernhard Riemann in 1859 , the Riemann hypothesis is an endeavor to reply an old age - honest-to-goodness question about primes – number that divide only by themselves and one . prime are one of the most central concepts in maths – the"atoms " of numbers – but they are also mysterious and incomprehensible , turning up on the face of it randomly along the figure line . That ’s why it ’s such big newsworthiness when mathematician findnew , enormous prime . Even if we find one prime number , there ’s no way to call what the next one is or how many there are below it .
Riemann was n’t a number theoriser , and only wrote one composition on the subject in his entire career . But this termination , even unproven , was so significant that he ’s still considered one of the most influential figures in the field .
Generations of mathematicians have attempt , withvaryingdegrees ofsuccess , to edge nearer to a proof , but the guess has so far remained open . IfMichael Atiyah – a fertile mathematician who has receivedjust about every award live – has find a validation , it would have huge ramifications both in and outside the mathematical world .
See , prime numbers are n’t just a mathematical oddment . Every time you send a message to a friend or buy something online – even reading this article right now – you ’re using meridian number theory . mod encryptiondependson the fact that prime are very , very hard to predict , and any consequence as swelled as this one could have a huge effect on how we keep our information unafraid .
Intriguingly , by citingvon Neumann , HirzebruchandDirac , Atiyah suggest that his " simple-minded substantiation " draws influence from the world of quantum mechanics . There ’s no dubiousness we should keep a healthy dose of incredulity until the proof is presented and reviewed . However , if it holds up , we could be about to see the most important find in mathematics forover a poop of a hundred .
