Not long ago, two British and American publishing houses said that whoever can prove Goldbach's conjecture is "the jewel in the crown of mathematics" within two years will get a prize of 1 10,000 US dollars. The waves aroused by the news have not subsided. On May 24th, Clay Institute of Mathematics, a world-class mathematical mind, announced that it would offer a reward for solving seven mathematical problems. The Institute named these seven difficult problems "Millennium Prize Problems" and offered a price of $ 654.38+0 million for the proof of each problem.
At the press conference held by Clay Institute of Mathematics to announce awards for seven difficult problems, the famous mathematician Professor wiles expressed the hope that by linking solving mathematical problems with prizes, he could "inspire and inspire several algebra scientists in the future". 45-year-old wiles 1995 is famous for proving Fermat's Last Theorem which has been pending for 350 years. He himself has a deep understanding of the role of interest in the growth of a mathematician. Wiles recalled that when he was 10 years old, he first learned what Fermat's Last Theorem was in a comic book, which became the starting point of his unremitting search.
Another reason why "Clay Institute of Mathematics" spent a lot of money is that the seven difficult problems solved by this award are the most difficult "bones" that mathematicians did not gnaw down in the 20th century. In the past 100 years, the best brains on earth have been helpless about it. The solution of these problems is considered to bring revolution to cryptography and other research. For example, experts pointed out that once the most famous "Riemann hypothesis" among the seven difficult problems is overcome, it will help to develop new means to improve the security of information transmission on the Internet, and users' credit card account information, medical and financial information will be more effectively protected. The remaining six difficult problems, such as Poincare conjecture, Hodge conjecture, Dell conjecture, Stokes equation, Mills theory and P-to-NP problem, are considered to be likely to bring breakthrough progress to aerospace and other fields and open up an incredible new field of mathematical research.
In addition to publishing the above seven unsolved mathematical problems at the annual meeting held in Paris, Clay Institute of Mathematics also provided detailed information about awards on its website. Professor Jaffe, director of the Clay Institute of Mathematics and Harvard University, believes that although there is no specific time limit for the award, it is estimated that it will be difficult to produce winners for at least four years. According to "Clay Institute of Mathematics", anyone who wants to prove that he has solved one of the difficult problems must first publish the results in an authoritative mathematical journal, and then spend two years for the international mathematical community to comment on it. Even if it is accepted by the international mathematics community, the Clay Institute of Mathematics must conduct its own evaluation before deciding whether to pay a million-dollar prize.
Even if these seven problems can't be solved in the end, their exploration will eventually produce beneficial "by-products". According to Devlin's metaphor of St. Mary's College in California, the seven problems of compensation are like "Mount Everest" in the field of mathematics. In the process of conquering Mount Everest, although only a few people finally reached the summit, the survival equipment and skills left by successful climbers will benefit countless latecomers. Devlin believes that this is the significance of putting forward the seven difficult problems of offering a reward.