To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 02:44:08 -0400
Subject: [WSFA] Fw: remembering the 1904 Poincaré conjecture
From: ronkean at juno.com
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/15/science/15MATH.html

excerpts:

Celebrated Math Problem Solved, Russian Reports
By SARA ROBINSON

A Russian mathematician is reporting that he has proved the Poincaré
Conjecture, one of the most famous unsolved problems in mathematics...
The mathematician, Dr. Grigori Perelman... could be eligible for a
$1 million prize...

Formulated by the French mathematician Henri Poincaré in 1904, the
Poincaré Conjecture (makes a) statement about the
three-dimensional sphere, a concept that is a stretch for the
nonmathematician to visualize. It says, essentially, that the
three-dimensional sphere is the only bounded three-dimensional space
with no holes.

"The hard part is how to tell globally what a space looks like when you
can only see a little piece of it at a time," said Dr. Benson Farb, a
professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago. "It was pretty
reasonable to think the earth was flat."

.

________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!