[decimon]

Galileo and the telescope should be irrelevant.

[decimon]

For the trees ping.

[JoeProBono]

[paterfamilias]

Although I am an educated man, it is humbling to me when I realize that I don’t even understand this (presumably) simplified layman’s explanation of what these mathematicians are thinking about.

Further, I am astounded that one of my kids has a degree in aeronautical engineering and used to tutor college students in math and physics.

He must get it from his mother’s side of the family.

[Onelifetogive]

In the fourth paragraph, the term “8 p.m. Friday” appears. Mathmatically, I understand this. The rest...not so much.

[dinoparty]

“We were standing on some huge rocks, where we could see out over this valley and hear the falls, when we realized partition numbers are fractal,” Ono says. “We both just started laughing.”

Um. OK.

[InterceptPoint]

This may help.

From Wikipedia:

In number theory, a partition of a positive integer n, also called an integer partition, is a way of writing n as a sum of positive integers.

The partitions of 4 are listed below:

1. 4
2. 3 + 1
3. 2 + 2
4. 2 + 1 + 1
5. 1 + 1 + 1 + 1

[DManA]

Same article with pictures:

http://esciencecommons.blogspot.com/?

[martin_fierro]

[Washi]

So, what are the practical, real world applications/uses of being able to determine the number of partitions of large number?

[IronJack]

I love this stuff, even though I can’t pretend to grasp it much beyond the sock puppet level.

[Free Vulcan]

As a side note, this is why I have always liked the English based system of measurement, because the number 12 (1 foot) has several equal partitions (i.e. 6+6, 4+4+4, 3+3+3+3, 2+2+2+2+2+2), the yard (divisible in inches to an integer by 1,2,3,4,6,9,12,18) and the mile (divisible in feet by every number from 1 to 12 except for 7 and 9).

If you need to, you can multiply feet by inches to give you even more divisible numbers for greater flexibility. That also equals out to fractions the brain understands, like 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/3, 1/6, 1/9 etc. It’s so much easier for me anyway to think in those terms v. the crappy decimal system, which I despise.

[Moonman62]

"Ken Ono has achieved absolutely breathtaking breakthroughs in the theory of partitions," says George Andrews

He probably has to beat the babes off with a stick.

[Texas Eagle]

Wow. I just had a deja vu. I felt like I was reliving a high school moment. By the third paragraph I could barely stay awake.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks decimon.

the Pythagorean says, "all is number", I say...

• What about letters?
• Must have been a big number that you smoked.
• How many finger am I holding up?
• What's the number for 9-1-1?
• Other(please specify)

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[grey_whiskers]

Like, *PING*, dude.

Cheers!