Nigerian professor claims to have solved 156 year old maths problem - Telegraph 3/11/17, 1:53 PM

Nigerian professor claims to have solved 156 year old maths problem

Dr Opeyemi Enoch believes he has solved one of the seven millennium problems in
mathematics

Can you answer these difficult exam questions? Photo: ALAMY

By Mark Molloy
2:03PM GMT 17 Nov 2015

A Nigerian professor has claimed to have solved a maths conundrum that had stumped scholars for more
than 150 years.

Dr Opeyemi Enoch, from the Federal University in the ancient city of Oye Ekiti, believes he has solved
one of the seven millennium problems in mathematics.

The professor says he was able to find a solution to the Riemann Hypothesis first proposed by German
mathematician Bernhard Riemann in 1859, which could earn him a $1m prize, in an interview with the
BBC.

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Nigerian professor claims to have solved 156 year old maths problem - Telegraph 3/11/17, 1:53 PM

However is solution to the problem has not yet been revealed.

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"Dr Enoch first investigated and then established the claims of Riemann," said a statement from the
university where he teaches.

"He went on to consider and to correct the misconceptions that were communicated by mathematicians in
the past generations, thus paving way for his solutions and proofs to be established.

"He also showed how other problems of this kind can be formulated and obtained the matrix that Hilbert
and Poly predicted will give these undiscovered solutions. He revealed how these solutions are applicable
in cryptography, quantum information science and in quantum computers."

via GIPHY

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Dr Enoch has reportedly previously worked on mathematical models for generating electricity from
sound, thunder and ocean bodies.

According to software engineer Robert Elder, the complex Riemann conundrum "is based on an
observation Riemann made about the equation: Every value of the equation that makes it go to zero
seems to lie on the exact same line."

The seven millennium problems are set out by the Massachusetts-based Clay Mathematical Institute
(CMI) as being the "most difficult" to solve.

A spokesperson for the CMI said: "As a matter of policy, the CMI does not comment on solutions to the
Millennium Problems"

Explaining the hypothesis they state: "The prime number theorem determines the average distribution of
the primes.

"The Riemann Hypothesis tells us about the deviation from the average. Formulated in Riemann's 1859
paper, it asserts that all the 'non-obvious' zeros of the zeta function are complex numbers with real part
1/2."

The Clay Mathematical Institute says its aim is to increase mathematical knowledge, encourage gifted
student to pursue maths careers and recognise extraordinary maths achievements.

Earlier this month Wellington Jighere, a Nigerian man who graduated from university at 32, became the
first African to win the English-Language World Scrabble Championships after beating his British rival
in what he described as a battle between one man and a whole continent.

Jighere won four straight games in a best-of-seven final round against Lewis MacKay, 30, from
Cambridge, who is ranked 19th by the bodys players association, on whose website Jighere doesnt
even feature.

Can you solve the 50 cent maths exam question that is dividing the internet?

Exam questions that divided the internet

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Nigerian professor claims to have solved 156 year old maths problem - Telegraph 3/11/17, 1:53 PM

Hannah's Sweets
When is Cheryl's birthday?
The answer

Step 1: Take the words from the question, and write it down as an equation - 6/n x 5/(n-1) = 1/3
Step 2: Multiply the 6 by the 5 and the n by the n-1. That gives you: 30/(n^2 - n) = 1/3 Step 3:
Multiply the top-left by bottom-right and top-right by bottom-left Step 4: Subtract 90 from
both sides, leading to your answer n^2 - n - 90 = 0

When is Cheryl's birthday?

The answer

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Nigerian professor claims to have solved 156 year old maths problem - Telegraph 3/11/17, 1:53 PM

You should create a table of four columns with the months at the top and the dates Cheryl gives
after. "You can rule out some of the options. For Albert to have known the answer, he would
have to have May and June as that is when 19 or 18 occur." The number 14 is the only one in
both months but Bernard is now sure of the birth date. This means Bernard knows it is July 16.

The cruel exam question

The answer

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Nigerian professor claims to have solved 156 year old maths problem - Telegraph 3/11/17, 1:53 PM

The answer depends on what type of person you are. "In reality, if too many people overuse a
common resource then everyone in the group suers," said the professor who set it.

Why 5+5+5 doesnt always make 15

The answer

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Nigerian professor claims to have solved 156 year old maths problem - Telegraph 3/11/17, 1:53 PM

A student was marked down for using the solution 5+5+5, with the teacher noting the correct
working out should be shown as 3+3+3+3+3 using the repeated addition strategy.

The 50 cent conundrum

The answer

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Nigerian professor claims to have solved 156 year old maths problem - Telegraph 3/11/17, 1:53 PM

360 degrees in a circle divided by 12 x 2 coins = 60

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