Thursday, January 01, 2009
JSH: Issue of fake claims of proof
Now some of you may wonder why it's so important to out mathematicians using this error I've found in number theory as it may be hard to understand why it matters if the complex plane disagrees with the ring of algebraic integers about roots of
a^2 - (7x-1)a + (49x^2 - 14x) = 0.
The short answer is that mathematics is highly sensitive to error. An error in mathematics can mean you can appear—if the error is not acknowledged—to prove just about anything.
That is a BIG DEAL as consider there is now a yearly Abel Prize.
According to that Wikipedia article in 2008 the prize was $1.2 million U.S., but what if you found out that a researcher had that prize for work that this error invalidates?
What if the researcher found out about the error, should he give the money back?
The result brings into question a lot of "pure mathematics". It hits in any area where the ring of algebraic integers is relied upon at at all, which is a huge swath of modern number theory. It can mean that a tremendous amount of funding is being spent on research that is full of error.
Now when I first discovered it over 6 years ago I still believed that maybe today's mathematicians were just victims of a mistake that entered the field over a hundred years ago, long before any of them were even born.
But through the years as I've watched a math journal die and faced endless arguments on math newsgroups where posters clearly ignore the actual proof of the problem to make things up or insult me, and mathematicians I contact in other ways like through email simply choose to not acknowledge, it is increasingly clear that they know what the error is, and are exploiting it for their own selfish gain.
People calling themselves mathematicians choosing to live in error for the money or prestige or other selfish reasons.
Deliberate error in the field.
So yes, it is quite possible I believe that a recipient of the Abel prize KNEW his research was wrong, and KNEW that he was getting over a million dollars for a fraudulent result, but hey that's a lot of money!
And clearly they seem to think that my case isn't being believed and that none of you will choose a clear and direct mathematical proof over authority figures refusing to acknowledge it.
I suggest to you that the fraud is an expression of cynicism about you.
These people don't believe in mathematical proof. That is clear.
I do. After all I even defined it. Google: define mathematical proof
I am someone who is supposed to be listened to, one of the latest of a long-line of major discoverers and they must know by now who I am!
So their behavior is cynical on a scale hard to contemplate.
But clearly they also don't believe YOU believe in mathematical proof as math journals do not just die. Simple proofs of an extraordinary error do not just sit there without someone noticing in this day and age.
I suggest to you: these people believe you are with them in their fraud.
I suggest to you that they think you are one of them.
But are you?
a^2 - (7x-1)a + (49x^2 - 14x) = 0.
The short answer is that mathematics is highly sensitive to error. An error in mathematics can mean you can appear—if the error is not acknowledged—to prove just about anything.
That is a BIG DEAL as consider there is now a yearly Abel Prize.
According to that Wikipedia article in 2008 the prize was $1.2 million U.S., but what if you found out that a researcher had that prize for work that this error invalidates?
What if the researcher found out about the error, should he give the money back?
The result brings into question a lot of "pure mathematics". It hits in any area where the ring of algebraic integers is relied upon at at all, which is a huge swath of modern number theory. It can mean that a tremendous amount of funding is being spent on research that is full of error.
Now when I first discovered it over 6 years ago I still believed that maybe today's mathematicians were just victims of a mistake that entered the field over a hundred years ago, long before any of them were even born.
But through the years as I've watched a math journal die and faced endless arguments on math newsgroups where posters clearly ignore the actual proof of the problem to make things up or insult me, and mathematicians I contact in other ways like through email simply choose to not acknowledge, it is increasingly clear that they know what the error is, and are exploiting it for their own selfish gain.
People calling themselves mathematicians choosing to live in error for the money or prestige or other selfish reasons.
Deliberate error in the field.
So yes, it is quite possible I believe that a recipient of the Abel prize KNEW his research was wrong, and KNEW that he was getting over a million dollars for a fraudulent result, but hey that's a lot of money!
And clearly they seem to think that my case isn't being believed and that none of you will choose a clear and direct mathematical proof over authority figures refusing to acknowledge it.
I suggest to you that the fraud is an expression of cynicism about you.
These people don't believe in mathematical proof. That is clear.
I do. After all I even defined it. Google: define mathematical proof
I am someone who is supposed to be listened to, one of the latest of a long-line of major discoverers and they must know by now who I am!
So their behavior is cynical on a scale hard to contemplate.
But clearly they also don't believe YOU believe in mathematical proof as math journals do not just die. Simple proofs of an extraordinary error do not just sit there without someone noticing in this day and age.
I suggest to you: these people believe you are with them in their fraud.
I suggest to you that they think you are one of them.
But are you?
# posted by James Harris @ 14:58 
