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What are the most mindblowing things in mathematics?
(lemmy.world)
submitted
1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
by
cll7793@lemmy.world
to
c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
What concepts or facts do you know from math that is mind blowing, awesome, or simply fascinating?
Here are some I would like to share:
- Gödel's incompleteness theorems: There are some problems in math so difficult that it can never be solved no matter how much time you put into it.
- Halting problem: It is impossible to write a program that can figure out whether or not any input program loops forever or finishes running. (Undecidablity)
The Busy Beaver function
Now this is the mind blowing one. What is the largest non-infinite number you know? Graham's Number? TREE(3)? TREE(TREE(3))? This one will beat it easily.
- The Busy Beaver function produces the fastest growing number that is theoretically possible. These numbers are so large we don't even know if you can compute the function to get the value even with an infinitely powerful PC.
- In fact, just the mere act of being able to compute the value would mean solving the hardest problems in mathematics.
- Σ(1) = 1
- Σ(4) = 13
- Σ(6) > 10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10 (10s are stacked on each other)
- Σ(17) > Graham's Number
- Σ(27) If you can compute this function the Goldbach conjecture is false.
- Σ(744) If you can compute this function the Riemann hypothesis is false.
Sources:
- YouTube - The Busy Beaver function by Mutual Information
- YouTube - Gödel's incompleteness Theorem by Veritasium
- YouTube - Halting Problem by Computerphile
- YouTube - Graham's Number by Numberphile
- YouTube - TREE(3) by Numberphile
- Wikipedia - Gödel's incompleteness theorems
- Wikipedia - Halting Problem
- Wikipedia - Busy Beaver
- Wikipedia - Riemann hypothesis
- Wikipedia - Goldbach's conjecture
- Wikipedia - Millennium Prize Problems - $1,000,000 Reward for a solution
For the uninitiated, the monty Hall problem is a good one.
Start with 3 closed doors, and an announcer who knows what's behind each. The announcer says that behind 2 of the doors is a goat, and behind the third door is ~~a car~~ student debt relief, but doesn't tell you which door leads to which. They then let you pick a door, and you will get what's behind the door. Before you open it, they open a different door than your choice and reveal a goat. Then the announcer says you are allowed to change your choice.
So should you switch?
The answer turns out to be yes. 2/3rds of the time you are better off switching. But even famous mathematicians didn't believe it at first.
I know it to be true, I've heard it dozens of times, but my dumb brain still refuses to accept the solution everytime. It's kind of crazy really
like on paper the odds on your original door was 1/3 and the option door is 1/2, but in reality with the original information both doors were 1/3 and now with the new information both doors are 1/2.
Yes, you don't actually have to switch. You could also throw a coin to decide to stay at the current door or to switch. By throwing a coin, you actually improved your chances of winning the price.
This is incorrect. The way the Monty Hall problem is formulated means staying at the current door has 1/3 chance of winning, and switching gives you 2/3 chance. Flipping a coin doesn't change anything. I'm not going to give a long explanation on why this is true since there are plenty other explanations in other comments already.
This is a common misconception that switching is better because it improves your chances from 1/3 to 1/2, whereas it actually increases to 2/3.