Has the Poincare Conjecture Finally Been Solved?

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    Conjecture Poincare
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the status of the Poincaré Conjecture, particularly focusing on Grigory Perelman's purported proof and its implications. Participants express their thoughts on the conjecture's significance in mathematics and its potential impact on physics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants mention that Grigory Perelman is believed to have solved the Poincaré Conjecture, with a proof expected to be published soon.
  • One participant references a CNN story related to the conjecture and seeks insights from number-theory experts.
  • A participant reflects on the challenge of the Millennium Prize Problems, expressing uncertainty about the Poincaré Conjecture and its beauty, while speculating on its implications for physics.
  • Another participant shares thoughts on the emotional experience of proving significant mathematical theorems, comparing it to the experience of Andrew Wiles with Fermat's Last Theorem.
  • A later reply humorously notes the uncertainty of how a computer might feel about the proof.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views regarding the status and implications of the Poincaré Conjecture, with no clear consensus on its resolution or significance.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of understanding of the Poincaré Conjecture, indicating a potential limitation in fully grasping its implications and the proof itself.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in mathematical conjectures, the Poincaré Conjecture, and its implications in both mathematics and physics may find this discussion relevant.

selfAdjoint
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Mathematicians are now saying that Grigory Perelman has really solved the conjecture and the proof will be in a paper he will post in the near future. His previous papers on this subject are in the arxiv specal topic Differential Geometry (under mathematics). Keep your eyes on this space!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
This story even http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/West/01/07/math.mystery.ap/index.html

Any thoughts from the number-theory experts here?
 
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Heck! Now i only have 6 problems to achieve the million of dollars.
Which I will choose? The P=NP problem? The Hodge conjecture? The Riemann hypothesis not, for sure it must the most investigated by now of the 6.
It's a pity that I don't understand completely the statement of the Poincare conjecture. It surely must be a very beautiful sensation to achieve to understand the prove of the conjecture. and I think that the prove will have repercussions in the world of physics
 
Originally posted by meteor
Heck! Now i only have 6 problems to achieve the million of dollars.
Which I will choose? The P=NP problem? The Hodge conjecture? The Riemann hypothesis not, for sure it must the most investigated by now of the 6.
It's a pity that I don't understand completely the statement of the Poincare conjecture. It surely must be a very beautiful sensation to achieve to understand the prove of the conjecture. and I think that the prove will have repercussions in the world of physics
The P=NP problem; the ramifications could boost the world's GDP by several % in one fell swoop (or not; depends on what you prove :wink: ).

Did anyone else see the TV program on Wiles and Fermat? In it, Wiles attempted to explain what it felt like; as good a practical demonstration of 'rapture' as any, I feel.

More exciting than proving the 4-colour theorem, that's for sure. :smile:
 
Well, we don't know how the computer felt.
 

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