Can Anyone Spot the Error?

[kirupa]

The following is from an actual 1995 Boston Globe Artice:


Goldbach's conjecture, after a proposition penned by Prussian mathematician Christian Goldbach in 1742, holds that every even number can be expressed by the sum of two prime numbers (thus, 20 can be expressed by 9 and 11). It has never been fully proven. (no url - the communists force non-boston student types to pay to see the full text)

Can any of you spot the error in this article? It's funny once you figure it out...for me it was funny at least :)

If you think you have the right answer, use the Spoiler tag ( [.spoiler=intro text]answer[./spoiler] (minus the . periods) as to not ruin it for those who are trying to figure it out.

EDIT: You don't need to know anything about Goldbach's conjecture.

EDIT2: The error is not that this was recently almost solved.

[angelalr14]

wow im stumped

[tucker]

erm, it doesnt apply to the numbers 2 or 1?

[kirupa]

erm, it doesnt apply to the numbers 2 or 1?Nope :x

[brownie]

9 aint a prime number.....what a gas

[kirupa]

:)

[Yeldarb]

//Math.Sqrt(-4) ?

Oh lol :P

[brownie]

hey K dude
maybe u should edit my post so as to not give it away

[tucker]

or u could use the COOL spoiler tags!

[brownie]

i remember reading them a while back.
whats the code

[VDaminator]

9 is not a prime number at least I dont think it is.

oops didnt refresh the page dang you guys are fast

[tucker]

[ spoiler=spoiler title here]spoiler here[ /spoiler ]

[kirupa]

Just revised my post encouraging people to use the spoiler tag to see if they have the right answer :)

[brownie]

doh...cant get it to work...

[pom]

Funny, but I couldn't help reading what was inside the spoiler tag :beam:

[hificopymaster]

Spoiler tags are just too tempting. We need a new less tempting tag. Something like: "Read this:". (I know I wouldn't bother.)

[McGiver]

either I missunderstand something or this is really crappy.
a) you cannot express any number by the sum of prime numbers (except you use negative prime numbers too). If I'm wrong sum up two numbers to reach 3 and proof me wrong (remember 1 officially doesn't count as a prime number)
b) 9 is no prime number. ever tried to divide it by 3?????!

edit: slow me, I just read the other spoilers... but is the guy who stated that an idiot or what :P

[hificopymaster]

[EDIT] Sorry, I don't know what I'm talking about. Mixing up conjectures and such. :P

[hificopymaster]

Oh wait, I was right. Goldbach's conjecture only applies to even numbers. Positive even numbers >= 4.

[El_Thierro]

If I'm wrong sum up two numbers to reach 3 and proof me wrong (remember 1 officially doesn't count as a prime number)
It only goes for even numbers :beam:

[McGiver]

oups sorry.
I'm reading the way I am driving: poorly but fast

[lunatic]

Nine is not a prime number ya bozos!

:P

[El_Thierro]

He's not really Prussian!!!!

:!:

[Ryall]

9 isnt so prime

[lunatic]

lol @ Thierro :P

[Phat7]

I've had math in English in school but since English is not my native language I've forgotten what a prime number is... You see what I'm gettin at?.. No? Ok. :sigh:

What the hell is a prime number?! :scream:

[hificopymaster]

I had to explain this to the boyfriend last night. :sure:

A prime number is a number that is only divisible by 1 and itself.

[Phat7]

Right :) Thanx hifi ;)

[El_Thierro]

Look at me! I have master in my name! :crazy:
Shhhhh! ;)

[hificopymaster]

Gah! Sorry! I deleted that part, you may want to edit your post to get rid of the quote too. :trout:

[McGiver]

btw.: is anyone else here who cannot accept that a zero vector is called vektor?
it has no direction, no position change, it's just a dot.

I demand either to add 1 to the primenumbers or to expel the zerovektor from the vektors.

[hificopymaster]

The zero vector is not just a vector, it's a SUPER vector, because it has any direction you want. Anyway, it has to be a vector or else it would screw up physics. You have to be able to move 0 metres in any given direction. I don't know why, but I'm sure it's true. :P

[McGiver]

then I demand adding 1 to prime numbers.
It's dividable through 1 and itself

[hificopymaster]

If you consider 1 to be prime, the Unique Factorization Theorem breaks. Any positive integer can be written uniquely as the product of primes. That is, 20 = 2 * 2 * 5. If you include one, then you also have 20 = 1 * 2 * 2 * 5 and 20 = 1 * 1 * 1 * 1 * 1 * 2 * 2 * 5 and so on. Mathematicians like rules and such.

[kirupa]

edit: slow me, I just read the other spoilers... but is the guy who stated that an idiot or what :PThe Boston Globe issued a correction on the next issue stating that they were incorrect :)

[El_Thierro]

The Boston Globe issued a correction on the next issue stating that they were incorrect :)
They read our posts! :love:




:sure:

[kirupa]

They read our posts! :love:




:sure:The article was written in 1995 btw :)

[El_Thierro]

The article was written in 1995 btw :)
...trough a time machine! :cool:

[hificopymaster]

:!: Nice save! :thumb: