Geeky Math Stuff - Massive Progress on the Twin Primes problem

[KenSmith]

There has been amazing progress made on the "twin prime conjecture" which states that there are an infinite number of prime numbers that are separated by only one intervening number, such as (11,13) or (41,43).
This is one of the great unsolved problems in mathematics.

https://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/20131119-together-and-alone-closing-the-prime-gap/

I loved the part with a hotel check-in clerk knowing about this research.

 

[gronbog]

Cool stuff. I'll get right to work on it ... right after I'm done with knowing all there is to know about blackjack tournaments

It reminds me of my first year algebra professor who, on the first day of classes, left us with a problem to work on overnight. He said that if any of us could solve it, we would pass the course immediately and most likely be awarded our PhD in Mathematics on the spot. Being the keener that I was, I actually did work on it, despite the obvious hint that none of us were likely to solve it. That kind of enthusiasm waned quickly, once the social aspects of campus life kicked in

Oh, and the problem? It was only this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermat's_Last_Theorem