MATH Club
Vignesh Jagathese
UIC
The Impossible Fruit Problem: 99% of People Can't Solve This!
Abstract: Have you ever been sent a math problem meme by your friends and family? Did it have fruits in a system of equations, or a long line of equalities that conclusively proves that 2 = 1? Perhaps there was a hidden divide by zero, or maybe there were confusing parenthesis placements, or lack thereof. Regardless, there is always a taunt at the beginning of the problem claiming that "99% of people can't solve this!". As mathematicians, you could see the tricks and solve those problems with ease. In today's math club talk, I'll talk about a problem that lives up to this 99% claim, without the trickery common to the others.
Seemingly an innocent question that looks like all the other challenges you've seen, solving this problem will take us on a mathematical journey involving number theory, elliptic curves, abstract algebra, projective and birational geometry, topology, and more. In the end, we'll discuss similar problems and common obstacles to solving them.
Monday October 16, 2023 at 1:00 PM in 636 SEO