Friday, May 29, 2009

bernoulli numbers

bernoulli numbers
A 16-year-old in Sweden says when he first presented his solution to a 300-year-old mathematics formula, he was met with skepticism from his teachers.
Mohamed Altoumaimi, an Iraqi immigrant to Sweden, said undeterred, he presented the formula explaining the calculation of Bernoulli numbers to professors at Sweden's Uppsala University, The Local said Thursday.
"When I first presented it to my teachers, none of them believed that the formula I had written down really worked," Altoumaimi said.
"Right away they wanted to take a look at all my calculations and the documents where I show that the formula really works," the teen added regarding Uppsala professors' interest in his work.
Uppsala professors ultimately verified Altoumaimi's solution to the mathematics problem, which has served as a significant mathematical challenge for 300 years.
The Local said while the Bernoulli numbers formula had previously been solved, Altoumaimi's work was praised as a result of his young age and educational level.
"It's really exciting, now all the teachers have come and congratulated me," the teen said of the response to his formula.
Bernoulli numbers are sequenced rational numbers connected to number theory.

1 comment:

  1. I myself am considered "extremely gifted," and I am an over-acheiver, and I have done some remarkable things, but this is truly rare and astounding. This may be our next Einstein. At 13, I conceived of a story problem as a puzzle just for fun, and discovered the formula for the given number of the sequence and solved my puzzle only to discover later that I had independently discovered triangular numbers. This kid is astoundingly valuable. He can make considerable contributions to his entire generation and those after if he is well-guided, groomed and cultivated for being exactly who he is. Go Sweden! We in America waste our talent so badly. We do not appreciate intellectual talent to the point that other countries do and we will pay. Gifted kids are a kind unto themselves, very different with special needs. Instead of proper work with these children, we call them "geeks." We call them other ugly names and disparage them. This is irrational and sick, not to mention scary. We have all the talent that other countries routinely produce, but we do not cherish them for their unique ability to make major contributions to society. I used to feel so lonely on the playground that I began to develop a unique bond with the Developmentally Disabled children, because we were both different because of our IQ's. We resonated. I used to wish with all of my heart that I could give one of them 1/3 of my IQ points to make us both "normal." I have a talent for certain things, mostly in Psychology, which I majored in during college. That said, I estimate the IQ of that child as being near 200 or too high to even be measured. IQ is not a dirty thing, and I am deeply resentful of the racist and descriminist background given to it by its discoverers/founders. I have had to work hard, dirty and boring jobs. I have health problems and was abused. I didn't get to start college until I was 30. The people I worked with were often not very bright to delayed. I learned to like them for who they were, to form common bonds, and I learned to say, "The heart does not know IQ." Still, America, I challenge to treat our gifted kids like the treasures that they are.

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