A Japanese mathematician claims to have solved one of the most important problems in his field. The trouble is, hardly anyone can work out whether he's right.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
£199.00 per year
only £3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Change history
07 October 2015
An earlier version of this story incorrectly located the University of Antwerp in the Netherlands. It is in Belgium. The text has been updated.
15 October 2015
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Shinichi Mochizuki estimated that it would take an expert 500 hours to understand his proof. In fact, this was Ivan Fesenko’s estimate. The story also stated that Fesenko warned Mochizuki against speaking to the press, but this was not part of their discussion. The text has been modified accordingly.
Related links
Related links
Related links in Nature Research
Alexander Grothendieck (1928–2014) 2015-Jan-14
First proof that infinitely many prime numbers come in pairs 2013-May-14
Proof claimed for deep connection between primes 2012-Sep-10
Mathematics: The reluctant celebrity 2004-Jan-29
Related external links
“IUT Theory of Shinichi Mochizuki” Clay Mathematics Institute workshop
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Castelvecchi, D. The biggest mystery in mathematics: Shinichi Mochizuki and the impenetrable proof. Nature 526, 178–181 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/526178a
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/526178a
This article is cited by
-
Deep Disagreement in Mathematics
Global Philosophy (2023)
-
Four grades of ignorance-involvement and how they nourish the cognitive economy
Synthese (2021)