Two Mathematicians Just Solved a Decades-Old Math Riddle — and Possibly the Meaning of Life

Sat, 11 Jan 2020 04:01:26 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
https://www.livescience.com/diophantine-42-solved-meaning-of-life.html

"In Douglas Adams' sci-fi series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,
a pair of programmers task the galaxy's largest supercomputer with
answering the ultimate question of the meaning of life, the universe and
everything. After 7.5 million years of processing, the computer reaches
an answer: 42. Only then do the programmers realize that nobody knew the
question the program was meant to answer.

Now, in this week's most satisfying example of life reflecting art, a
pair of mathematicians have used a global network of 500,000 computers
to solve a centuries-old math puzzle that just happens to involve that
most crucial number: 42."

Via Janet Logan.

Share and enjoy,
                *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net                   Andrew Pam
http://www.xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
http://www.glasswings.com.au/             Partner, Glass Wings
http://www.sericyb.com.au/                Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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