Oct 14 Who doesn't like Möbius strips? I think what fascinated me most about them was that it was so easy to make something that is so full of surprises. Try it and be surprised all over again!
There's a certain mathematical conjecture about them that has resisted proof for nearly half a century. That changed only months ago, when a Richard Evans, a mathematician at Brown University (hello, alma mater!), found a proof. But what truly captivated me about this is that he could have proved it, he says, three years ago. Except that he made, he says, an "idiotic mistake" at that time - one any of us can easily comprehend. He actually uses that phrase in his paper. I think it is remarkable to admit to a mistake - it somehow increases my respect for him and his proof. So this is what my Mint column of October 6 was about. Take a look and let me know what you think: Twist in the tale of the Möbius strip, https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/twist-in-the-tale-of-the-m-bius-strip-11696532102567.html cheers, dilip --- See the attached PDF file: there's some mathematical notation that's hard to capture in plain text. (Which reminds me of PlaneText that I worked on in the mid-1980s. Ask if you want.) -- My book with Joy Ma: "The Deoliwallahs" Twitter: @DeathEndsFun Death Ends Fun: http://dcubed.blogspot.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Dilip's essays" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to dilips-essays+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dilips-essays/CAEiMe8qFoETFasREO3%2BkW%2B1k3QGEqp2ZRObs_PDbud_utp4rkg%40mail.gmail.com.