Riemann hypothesis

[Sriman Dutta]

Hi,

I want to know why is the Riemann hypothesis still unsolved? I really want to know the reasons due to which it is still unsolved.

[mathematic]

It is a difficult problem. What are you thinking by asking "why"?

[wtf]

It is a difficult problem. What are you thinking by asking "why"?

How do we know it's difficult? Because so many people have been unable to solve it!

 

OP has a good question. What is it, exactly, that makes RH a difficult problem? Why have FLT and the Poincaré conjecture been solved, but not RH?

 

That's way above my pay grade. But at heart it's a very good question IMO.

Edited October 19, 2016 by wtf

[StringJunky]

Nobody can find a technique that can predict what the next prime will be, to infinity without going through the list and working it out. They are trying to find a bespoke formula that can predict them; a shortcut. The pattern of occurrence of primes appears to be random but I think they think otherwise and, I think, that's one of the reasons why it is so difficult. This article by Marcus Du Sautoy gives an easy, potted read to the problem and it's history..

 

https://plus.maths.org/content/prime-number-lottery

Edited October 19, 2016 by StringJunky

[Sriman Dutta]

So now I get that.

Thanks for all your help.

[renerpho]

Nobody can find a technique that can predict what the next prime will be, to infinity without going through the list and working it out. They are trying to find a bespoke formula that can predict them; a shortcut. The pattern of occurrence of primes appears to be random but I think they think otherwise and, I think, that's one of the reasons why it is so difficult. This article by Marcus Du Sautoy gives an easy, potted read to the problem and it's history..

 

https://plus.maths.org/content/prime-number-lottery

 

Actually we think that the primes behave essentially like a pseudo-random number sequence (with a few known differences that are already well-understood). The Riemann hypothesis would confirm some that (at least in parts). It would allow to make a lot of predictions about the behaviour of primes (because many methods used to study random number sequences could be used to tackle prime numbers).

It's a common misconception that the Riemann hypothesis would result in hidden patterns in the prime numbers. The opposite is true: The reason why there are so many unproven conjectures about primes is that we don't know if there are any fancy, hidden patterns.

Edited November 20, 2016 by renerpho

[StringJunky]

Actually we think that the primes behave essentially like a pseudo-random number sequence (with a few known differences that are already well-understood). The Riemann hypothesis would confirm some that (at least in parts). It would allow to make a lot of predictions about the behaviour of primes (because many methods used to study random number sequences could be used to tackle prime numbers).

It's a common misconception that the Riemann hypothesis would result in hidden patterns in the prime numbers. The opposite is true: The reason why there are so many unproven conjectures about primes is that we don't know if there are any fancy, hidden patterns.

Right. Thanks for the clarification.