Teenage Iraqi Math Genius Solves 300 Year Old Problem in 4 Months

[footstepsfrom#27]

This is the dude you'd wanta copy off of in Calculus class...betcha he's popular at parties too.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090528...20090528124335

Iraq-born teen cracks maths puzzle

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant living in Sweden has cracked a maths puzzle that has stumped experts for more than 300 years, Swedish media reported on Thursday.

In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said.

Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, said teachers at his high school in Falun, central Sweden were not convinced about his work at first.

"When I first showed it to my teachers, none of them thought the formula I had written down really worked," Altoumaimi told the Falu Kuriren newspaper.

He then got in touch with professors at Uppsala University, one of Sweden's top institutions, to ask them to check his work.

After going through his notebooks, the professors found his work was indeed correct and offered him a place in Uppsala.

But for now, Altoumaimi is focusing on his school studies and plans to take summer classes in advanced mathematics and physics this year.

"I wanted to be a researcher in physics or mathematics; I really like those subjects. But I have to improve in English and social sciences," he told the Falu Kuriren.

[Dukes]

Give him a student visa to MIT

[tsiguy96]

youre report is kinda false.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090528...20090528174259

[footstepsfrom#27]

Originally Posted by tsiguy96

youre report is kinda false.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090528...20090528174259

Maybe...it doesn't say he didn't solve it, just that others have done so in the past.

In either case...still pretty funky.

[TheReverend]

In fairness, it was a culturally and racially skewed math problem in his favor. If anyone's curious, it was:

"How many suicide bombers does it take to blow up every Jew in an Israeli disco?"

[SureShot]

Originally Posted by TheReverend

In fairness, it was a culturally and racially skewed math problem in his favor. If anyone's curious, it was:

"How many suicide bombers does it take to blow up every Jew in an Israeli disco?"

8?

[SouthStndJunkie]

Hummus for everyone!

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by footstepsfrom#27

This is the dude you'd wanta copy off of in Calculus class...betcha he's popular at parties too.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090528...20090528124335

Iraq-born teen cracks maths puzzle

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant living in Sweden has cracked a maths puzzle that has stumped experts for more than 300 years, Swedish media reported on Thursday.

In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said.

Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, said teachers at his high school in Falun, central Sweden were not convinced about his work at first.

"When I first showed it to my teachers, none of them thought the formula I had written down really worked," Altoumaimi told the Falu Kuriren newspaper.

He then got in touch with professors at Uppsala University, one of Sweden's top institutions, to ask them to check his work.

After going through his notebooks, the professors found his work was indeed correct and offered him a place in Uppsala.

But for now, Altoumaimi is focusing on his school studies and plans to take summer classes in advanced mathematics and physics this year.

"I wanted to be a researcher in physics or mathematics; I really like those subjects. But I have to improve in English and social sciences," he told the Falu Kuriren.

Taliban gonna be looking to kill him real fast.

[Dukes]

Originally Posted by TheReverend

In fairness, it was a culturally and racially skewed math problem in his favor. If anyone's curious, it was:

"How many suicide bombers does it take to blow up every Jew in an Israeli disco?"

If so, why did the Japanese kid down the street finish the question faster?

[BroncoMan4ever]

Originally Posted by Dukes

Give him a student visa to MIT

screw that. we don't need anymore american taught Iraqis who are going to go on to become terrorists. keep his ass overseas

[TonyR]

Originally Posted by BroncoMan4ever

screw that. we don't need anymore american taught Iraqis who are going to go on to become terrorists. keep his ass overseas

Wow, that's not even a little bit racist...

[UberBroncoMan]

Originally Posted by BroncoMan4ever

screw that. we don't need anymore american taught Iraqis who are going to go on to become terrorists. keep his ass overseas

In all honesty... if we keep an American presence in Iraq and are capable of turning the tide of thought to a much more pro-American view such as in Japan and South Korea I think we'll enjoy smart people coming out of Iraq. The problem in the middle east has been extreme religious (Islamic) insanity. Without that the entire region and even the world would be a better place. It's nice if you want to practice a faith but forcing everyone to do it from birth and making it the central focus in everyone's life to the point of advocating violence is much of the reason why we call the Dark Age (which was Christianity in Europe)... the DARK Age. The kid in the article sounds like he's got a good track in life and best of luck to him.

[Anaximines]

... how many more like him have died in needless wars

[UberBroncoMan]

Originally Posted by Anaximines

... how many more like him have died in needless wars

... and how many more like him have been suppressed, not given a proper education and taught that women are not even close to equal, due to insane regimes... essentially how many potentially amazing individuals have been corrupted due to the leadership around them and forced into a life of poverty? War is a part of life and while the WMD readon for Iraq was a bit silly (granted they would eventually go for them), it's going to do a tremendous amount for the people in that nation assuming their elected leadership takes a step forward rather than backwards. You're from Berkley though so your stance is expected. People are stupid and people rarely RARELY change. The only power for change true change in this world is "brainwashing" through either violence, education or the use of media.

[Anaximines]

Originally Posted by UberBroncoMan

... and how many more like him have been suppressed, not given a proper education and taught that women are not even close to equal, due to insane regimes... essentially how many potentially amazing individuals have been corrupted due to the leadership around them and forced into a life of poverty? War is a part of life and while the WMD readon for Iraq was a bit silly (granted they would eventually go for them), it's going to do a tremendous amount for the people in that nation assuming their elected leadership takes a step forward rather than backwards. You're from Berkley though so your stance is expected. People are stupid and people rarely RARELY change. The only power for change true change in this world is "brainwashing" through either violence, education or the use of media.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, first of all I wasn't necessarily saying that the current war is needless (I meant it just as much in reference to 9/11), I certainly agree with you on the human-rights benefits to westernizing Iraq. But the article says that this kid moved away from Iraq 6 years ago, meaning that he spent his (formative) first 10 years in Iraq, and he doesn't seem to be too bad off for it (of course that's not saying that the oppressive culture there didn't hurt his intellectual development).

Yes, I'm from Berkeley but I have only been here for 10 months and I spent the first 24 years of my life in conservative Oklahoma voting for Bush

Things aren't always what they seem.

[Anaximines]

I definitely agree that war can be for the greater good in the long term, it's just a tough pill to swallow

[Al Wilson]

Originally Posted by BroncoMan4ever

screw that. we don't need anymore american taught Iraqis who are going to go on to become terrorists. keep his ass overseas

STFU you piece of SH1T

[BroncoMan4ever]

Originally Posted by UberBroncoMan

In all honesty... if we keep an American presence in Iraq and are capable of turning the tide of thought to a much more pro-American view such as in Japan and South Korea I think we'll enjoy smart people coming out of Iraq. The problem in the middle east has been extreme religious (Islamic) insanity. Without that the entire region and even the world would be a better place. It's nice if you want to practice a faith but forcing everyone to do it from birth and making it the central focus in everyone's life to the point of advocating violence is much of the reason why we call the Dark Age (which was Christianity in Europe)... the DARK Age. The kid in the article sounds like he's got a good track in life and best of luck to him.

it doesn't matter how long americans remain in that area of the world. those people hate us and will always hate us. the minute this war ends and the troops come home, that place is going to return to the war torn piece of **** it has always been.

and with that kid, he seems good now. but a majority of the higher ups in those terrorist groups are guys who 20-30 years ago were good kids went to american schools and then years later became fanatics who hate america.

i know it sounds like a dickhead way to think, but i would much rather not do anything for anyone in that area of the world, rather than educate or help them and regret it in a few years.

[footstepsfrom#27]

Cripes. I should have known even a human interest story about a kid prodigy would provoke a new round of poltics and race fighting. Cue the A-hole spouting jokes about Jews burning alive in ovens now.

[Spider]

Originally Posted by footstepsfrom#27

Cripes. I should have known even a human interest story about a kid prodigy would provoke a new round of poltics and race fighting. Cue the A-hole spouting jokes about Jews burning alive in ovens now.

how many Iraqis does it take to ...............................

[BroncoMan4ever]

Originally Posted by TonyR

Wow, that's not even a little bit racist...

i don't care how it sounds. and if my not wanting to help any of those people because of the majority of them being anti-america, is a problem i don't care.

the majority of people there hate us and always will. why should i feel bad for not wanting to pay to educate or help those people, when if they had the chance they would kill myself or anyone here without ever thinking twice.

[watermock]

It's a PR move cut short by the institution.

As well it should be.

[BroncoMan4ever]

Originally Posted by Anaximines

... how many more like him have died in needless wars

how many of our american troops need to die in needless wars?

in the big picture, i don't really care about any of these people in any other country, especially when it is between the life of an american soldier or the life of any person from any country regardless of them being innocent or not.

[BroncoMan4ever]

Originally Posted by Al Wilson

STFU you piece of SH1T

**** you fag! got a problem with what i have to say, ignore it.

[BroncoMan4ever]

Originally Posted by Spider

how many Iraqis does it take to ...............................

leave it to Spider to put a funny spin on things