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Friday, January 4, 2008

Abel's Mistake

Niels Hendrik Abel (1802-1829)

1823: At the age of 21, Abel published a paper where he gave the first general solution to fifth degree algebraic equations .

(Equations of type Ax5 + Bx4 + Cx3 + Dx2 + Ex + F = 0)

A year later, Abel retracted the claim in a famous paper in which he proved that the general 5th degree equation cannot be solved in terms of algebraic radicals.

Source: The Story of Mathematics, Lloyd Motz & Jefferson Hane Weaver

Point.

Even in the realm of mathematics, certainty is not guaranteed. As hard as it is to believe, mathematicians are human. Thus, it is not unreasonable to believe that years from now, some of today's mathematics will be proven wrong or invalid.

More about Abel:


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