Iraq-born teen cracks maths puzzle

[redqueen]

Not the first to do so, but to do this at age 16 on his own is an astounding feat.

Corrected story in post 4.

Iraq-born teen cracks maths puzzle
Thu May 28, 8:41 am ET

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant living in Sweden has cracked a maths puzzle that has stumped experts for more than 300 years, Swedish media reported on Thursday.

In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said.

Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, said teachers at his high school in Falun, central Sweden were not convinced about his work at first.

"When I first showed it to my teachers, none of them thought the formula I had written down really worked," Altoumaimi told the Falu Kuriren newspaper.

[JI7]

1. will they name it after him ?

i think i read once that people who have figured out many of these math formulas have done it when they were young.

[redqueen]

3. I would think the solution would get his name...

not sure though. I've never heard about an age correlation but it wouldn't be surprising. Fresh eyes and all that.

[HamdenRice]

2. Great story! Too bad he could not have done so in Baghdad and Iraq claimed a great mathematician n

[Christa]

5. Which begs the question

Why is he in Sweden?

I bet for fear of being killed in the Iraq we freed from Saddam.



:shrug:

[rurallib]

7. I believe Sweden has been taking in refugees for years

remember there have been millions displaced by our little attempt to jam "democracy" down their throats.
ETA I believe we have taken in one or two families in the USA.

[tj2001]

4. Somebody jumped the gun. Uppsala University says formula was well known and readily available:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hoBoFv1EntgI1GsTCCXSs30RDbow

Iraqi teen tackles maths puzzle, but not the first: university
2 days ago

STOCKHOLM (AFP) — A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant, who figured out a solution to a complex maths puzzle, was not the first person to come up with a successful formula, Sweden's Uppsala University said in a statement Thursday.

Swedish media, including the website of the Dagens Nyheter daily, reported Thursday that Mohamed Altoumaimi had found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli.

The Falu Kuriren newspaper, which ran the original story, said Altoumaimi was the first person to crack the puzzle and had enlisted the help of a senior lecturer at Uppsala University to check his formula.

But a statement published on the university's website said the reports were inaccurate. "Senior lecturer Jan-Aake Lindhal verified the formula, but added that although correct, it was well known and readily available in several databases," the statement said.

The Falu Kuriren also reported Altoumaimi had been offered a place at Uppsala once he finishes high school, but the institution denied this was the case. "The student... has not been admitted to Uppsala University," the statement said.

[redqueen]

6. How awful, the sloppiness.

This correction was posted quickly... why is the one I posted still up on the front page at Yahoo, I wonder.

I'll change the subject line at least... thanks.