Sunday, May 31, 2009

solving an unsolved problem in math


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. Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, is currently at high school in Falun, central Sweden and plans to take summer classes in advanced mathematics and physics this year.


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