Re: Riemann Hypothesis


On Apr 27, 5:38 am, jdo...@xxxxxxxxx (James Dolan) wrote:
in article <1177639648.621710.153...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,

owlhoot <ravensd...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

| Why not try emailing it to de Branges, the guy who proved
| the Bieberbach conjecture and I gather has been trying for
| some years to prove RH?
|
| If there is a flaw (and, no disrespect, but this seems
| distinctly likely given the number of expert analysts over
| the years who have tried and failed to prove it) he'd likely
| spot it.

was that a morbid joke? from what i've heard there doesn't seem
to be any evidence that de branges's considerable abilities include
being able to spot flaws in proofs.

I did read that one or two of his attempts at RH have turned out
to contain mistakes, which is perhaps what you're referring to.
But presumably he understands and acknowledges these once they're
pointed out.

(I use the word "mistake" instead of "flaw", because the latter
might suggest his whole approach is misguided, which I don't think
anyone is in a position to judge.)

But, given the tremendous difficulty of this problem it seems a
bit harsh to be skeptical of someone who makes serious attempts,
even if these turn out to be wrong (although one might be excused
for declining to volunteer checking an attempt of his if it appears
he has "cried wolf" once too often).

I still don't think it's such a bad idea to try running a serious
attempt past him. By now he must know his way round this problem
fairly well, and the very fact that he has made mistakes means he
knows where some of the bear traps are!

Also, in my experience, it's usually a damn sight easier to find
flaws in someone else's proof (within one's competency to check)
than one's own.


Cheers

John R Ramsden

.

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