MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 29th 2024 - 13:31 UTC

 

 

Indian school boy solves 350-year old mathematical problem set out by Newton

Thursday, May 31st 2012 - 18:33 UTC
Full article 14 comments

An Indian school boy from Calcutta and currently in Germany, Shouryya Ray, has shocked everyone by solving a 350-year-old mathematical problem which was set by one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians, Sir Isaac Newton. Read full article

Comments

Disclaimer & comment rules
  • Idlehands

    I love physics but hate maths. The trouble is that maths is the language of physics rather than pretty pictures of galaxies etc.

    To be a true master of Physics you have to master the maths - and few can do both. Ed Witten is the only one alive today that is Nobel Prize standard at both.

    I'll just have to carry on pretending I understand the logic behind their theories - note the article above doesn't even try to explain it.

    May 31st, 2012 - 06:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ChrisR

    I am with you on the maths.

    As a retired Profesional Engineer I look back and think - thank the stars I never did maths beyond the needs of my science training and of course, statistics.

    May 31st, 2012 - 07:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Marcos Alejandro

    2 ChrisR “As a retired Profesional Engineer I look back and think - thank the stars I never did maths, geography nor history”

    We know that already Chris.

    May 31st, 2012 - 08:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • AmericanLight

    I never liked math but when I was in college majoring in Physics I was upset at my chemistry professor and switched to Physics. Little I knew that I was going from a trigonometry based physics to a calculus based one . Luckily Math became very easy after that. Nowadays I only use the Physics degree for my current profession when I am generating income plans for the years and forecasting.
    I still enjoy researching in my free time though

    May 31st, 2012 - 09:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Condorito

    “Ray's solutions will now help scientists to calculate the flight path of a thrown ball and also it will help them to predict how it will strike and bounce off a wall”

    My dog can do that flawlessly.

    May 31st, 2012 - 11:22 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • briton

    Briton’s
    THEORY

    except, that out of 6 billion people on the planet, is he then suggesting that we will all throw the ball at exactly the same time , place , speed , and height ,
    We think not.

    The basic theory of
    Sir Isaac Newton,
    Was that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,
    When a flying insect, probably a big bee or wasp, or even a bat, flew into the apple tree, and knocking the apple that fell onto he head,
    And has ever since, not only confused him, but the rest of mankind, except ???
    Of course mmmm lolol.

    May 31st, 2012 - 11:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • JohnN

    Give young Mr. Ray £1,000 if he can come up with a solution to the Falkland Islands problem with Argentina. Might involve bouncing a ball off a wall...

    Jun 01st, 2012 - 12:33 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • tobias

    Math is focused meditation. Beyond trigonometry it is more a matter of mustering cortical clarity than any actual difficulty in the math.

    It's like trying to nagivate a laberynth but instead of eidetic talents to remember the path, you need logical ratiotination of more basic arithmetical, algebraic, and exponential concepts, which are put together in one enormous problem to solve.

    Most of us are simply overwhelmed by the task, not by its inherent difficulty.

    Jun 01st, 2012 - 01:30 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Idlehands

    It's like trying to 'nagivate a laberynth' is it?

    Jun 01st, 2012 - 06:05 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Guzz

    India produces mathemagicians, while the rest of us merely learn maths...

    Jun 01st, 2012 - 06:10 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ChrisR

    3 Marcos Alejandro

    Failed to read the post correctly AGAIN. Poor child.

    Jun 01st, 2012 - 01:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Room101

    8 Tobias;
    It isn't that simple, surely. Whilst working on a difficult problem, cortical clarity can be achieved through the egotistical exuberance of one's own mental velocity.It all depends on the ratio of the potential difference between two synapses and the chemical current passing through them; this only applies when the bodily temperature is a constant. :P

    Jun 01st, 2012 - 01:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • DouglasBlammo

    I can count to 21 without unzipping !

    Jun 01st, 2012 - 01:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • briton

    As long as you understand the 3rs
    The rest is irrelevant,
    Unless you happen to be a genius,

    Or assimilated lol.

    Jun 01st, 2012 - 01:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0

Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!