The Riemann Hypothesis
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The Riemann Hypothesis
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Re: The Riemann Hypothesis
#2Every now and then I try to delve into the frightening world of math. Then I see something like this, and start to feel very tired.
Then I think, “My hair is already falling out. Do I need something like this to accelerate the process?”
Re: The Riemann Hypothesis
#3Every now and then I try to delve into the frightening world of math. Then I see something like this, and start to feel very tired. Then I think, “My hair is already falling out. Do I need something like this to accelerate the process?”
I'm satisfied to know that there are people who need something like this.
Re: The Riemann Hypothesis
#4Every now and then I try to delve into the frightening world of math. Then I see something like this, and start to feel very tired. Then I think, “My hair is already falling out. Do I need something like this to accelerate the process?”
For what it's worth, most mathematicians find the Riemann hypothesis frightening as well. There are much lower level aspects of math to be explored without climbing the proverbial Mt. Everest of math problems.
Re: The Riemann Hypothesis
#53Blue1Brow has a nice video on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD0NjbwqlYw
Re: The Riemann Hypothesis
#6If you've got enough math background to follow it, Harold Edwards' Riemann's Zeta Function is a gem of a book and available inexpensively from Dover. There is an English translation of Riemann's paper at the end of the book. I spent a worthwhile few weeks of spare time working my way through the paper ( and a lot of pencil & paper to work "between" the steps in the paper -- math is not a spectator sport ) with a longish diversion diving into the gamma function along the way.
Re: The Riemann Hypothesis
#7Every now and then I try to delve into the frightening world of math. Then I see something like this, and start to feel very tired. Then I think, “My hair is already falling out. Do I need something like this to accelerate the process?”
For what it's worth, most mathematicians find the Riemann hypothesis frightening as well. There are much lower level aspects of math to be explored without climbing the proverbial Mt. Everest of math problems.
I disagree with this. I don’t think the Riemann Hypothesis is “harder” than various other unsolved problems like Yang-Mills or Navier-Stokes. Most professional mathematicians would succeed just as much or as little as the particular subset who actively work on the Riemann Hypothesis, if they chose to study it. I think it’s more that in terms of instrumental rationality / goal achievement, working on the Riemann Hypothesis doesn’t suit very many people. There are other trade-offs with funding, applications, lifestyle goals, etc., so it’s just not for everyone.
But there’s no way at all that “most mathematicians find the Riemann Hypothesis frightening” as you suggest.
Re: The Riemann Hypothesis
#8I really wish the Riemann-Zeta Function were more often explained in terms of a prime number sieve. It's actually not particularly difficult to follow and the connection between the function and the distribution of primes would be completely obvious.
Re: The Riemann Hypothesis
#9Every now and then I try to delve into the frightening world of math. Then I see something like this, and start to feel very tired. Then I think, “My hair is already falling out. Do I need something like this to accelerate the process?”
Mathematicians usually have more or less okay hair. Something to do with the blood flow from all that thinking.
Re: The Riemann Hypothesis
#10Mathematics is a uniquely beautiful field to me. The commutative property has always struck me as special in its own way. 2 x 3 = 3 x 2 feels so obvious, but multiplication is really just addition, and 2 + 2 + 2 = 3 + 3 is far less intuitive, yet states the very same claim.
Most fascinating to me is that many theories are effectively 1-way functions. Entire branches of mathematics have been developed to prove otherwise trivially stated claims. It is something to marvel at, if from a safe distance.