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posted by
Fnord666
on Friday September 13 2019, @08:26PM
from the for-all-values-of-everything<113 dept.
from the for-all-values-of-everything<113 dept.
Submitted via IRC for chopchop1
The problem of 42 — at least as it relates to whether the number could be considered the sum of three cubes — has finally been solved. The question of whether every number under 100 could be expressed in this fashion has been a long-standing puzzle in the world of mathematics. Now, two mathematicians, Andrew Sutherland of MIT and Andrew Booker of Bristol, have jointly proven that 42 is indeed the sum of three cubes.
In the equation x3+y3+z3 = k, let x = -80538738812075974, y = 80435758145817515, and z = 12602123297335631. Plug it all in, and you get (-80538738812075974)3 + 804357581458175153 + 126021232973356313 = 42.
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Life, the Universe, and Math: 42 Proven to be the Sum of 3 Cubes
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(Score: 2) by legont on Saturday September 14 2019, @12:40AM (1 child)
Because they could not figure out how to express it in football fields or libraries of Congress.
But seriously, we need the answer for 74,088.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by Mer on Saturday September 14 2019, @07:07AM
How many parsecs is a football field?
Shut up!, he explained.