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What are the most mindblowing things in mathematics? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

236 comments fedilink hide all child comments

What concepts or facts do you know from math that is mind blowing, awesome, or simply fascinating?

Here are some I would like to share:

Gödel's incompleteness theorems: There are some problems in math so difficult that it can never be solved no matter how much time you put into it.
Halting problem: It is impossible to write a program that can figure out whether or not any input program loops forever or finishes running. (Undecidablity)

The Busy Beaver function

Now this is the mind blowing one. What is the largest non-infinite number you know? Graham's Number? TREE(3)? TREE(TREE(3))? This one will beat it easily.

The Busy Beaver function produces the fastest growing number that is theoretically possible. These numbers are so large we don't even know if you can compute the function to get the value even with an infinitely powerful PC.
In fact, just the mere act of being able to compute the value would mean solving the hardest problems in mathematics.
Σ(1) = 1
Σ(4) = 13
Σ(6) > 10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10 (10s are stacked on each other)
Σ(17) > Graham's Number
Σ(27) If you can compute this function the Goldbach conjecture is false.
Σ(744) If you can compute this function the Riemann hypothesis is false.

Sources:

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That you can have 5 apples, divide them zero times, and somehow end up with math shitting itself inside-out at you even though the apples are still just sitting there.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

You try having 5 apples and divide them into 0 equal groups and you'll shit yourself too.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Except that by dividing the total number zero times means you're not dividing them at all, and therefore by doing nothing you are still left with 5 apples.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Not dividing at all is dividing by 1.