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The 20 big questions in science
- lutusp 13y agoApart from the fact that a number of the "20 big question in science" aren't scientific questions at all, there's a rather silly claim about the Riemann Hypothesis: Quote: "An apparent pattern within them – the Riemann hypothesis – has tantalised some of the brightest minds in mathematics for centuries." But prime numbers don't possess an "apparent pattern," and there's no evidence for a pattern in either primes or the Riemann zeta function -- if there were, we would be much closer to understanding primes. In fact, the article that the linked article itself links to (i.e. http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/nov/03/million-dollars-maths-riemann-hypothesis http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/nov/03/million-...) says "Prime numbers also have the annoying habit of not following any pattern. 3,137 is a prime and the next one after that is not until 3,163, but then 3,167 and 3,169 suddenly appear in quick succession, followed by another gap until 3,187. If you find one prime number, there is no way to tell where the next one is without checking all the numbers as you go." So, no known pattern. Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_hypothesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_hypothesis