Longest Maths Proof Would Take 10 Billion Years To Read

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"Boolean Pythagorean Triples" is a long-unsolved enigma within a field called Ramsey Theory.
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  • It is a long-unsolved enigma within a field called Ramsey Theory.
  • The brain-teaser fabled American mathematician Roland Graham.
  • The puzzle was cracked "using Cube-and-Conquer method."
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Paris, France: An Anglo-American trio presented the prize-winning solution to a 35-year old maths problem on Friday, but verifying it may be a problem in itself: reading it would take 10 billion years.

"Boolean Pythagorean Triples" is not a shameful contagious disease, but a long-unsolved enigma within a field called Ramsey Theory.

It was such a brain-teaser that nearly 30 years ago fabled American mathematician Roland Graham offered a cash prize to anyone who could solve it.

It was only $100, but still.

The self-declared winners -- Marijn Heule, Oliver Kullmann and Victor Marek, of the universities of Texas, Swansea and Kentucky, respectively -- unveiled their proof at the international SAT 2016 conference in Bordeaux, France.

By their own account, they cracked the puzzle "using Cube-and-Conquer, a hybrid satisfiability testing (SAT) method for hard problems."