A math problem stumped experts for 50 years. This grad student from Maine solved it in days
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Half a century ago, a brilliant young mathematician named John Horton Conway discovered, of all things, a knot. Again and again, decorated mathematicians were unable to find a solution to what became known as the Conway knot problem.
Then, two years ago, a little-known graduate student named Lisa Piccirillo, who grew up in Maine, learned about the knot problem while attending a math conference.
That’s ridiculous, Piccirillo thought while she listened. This is 2018. We should be able to do that. A week later, she produced a proof that stunned the math world.
Read the full story from the Globe Magazine.
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