Schoolboy cracks age-old maths problem

The Local.de ^ | Published: 23 May 12 07:03 CET | The Local.de

[HereInTheHeartland]

“my idiot ten year old son”

Ouch. Hopefully you don’t say that to him.

[Hebrews 11:6]

now calculate not only the flight path of a ball, but also predict how it will hit and bounce off a wall

I can think of a few major league outfielders who need this kid's coaching.

[SpaceBar]

The article doesn’t go into much detail about the actual problem statement. I’ll assume it’s a bit more involved than using the angle of restitution used for inelastic collisions, and since numerical simulations are little more than hand calculations performed really really fast, I’ll further assume he derived a closed form solution e.g. a nice “plug-in” formula.

[txrefugee]

“Meanwhile in America ..”

...we are having Trayvon Martin Day, on which nothing will be accomplished but victimhood will be encouraged.

[007drizzt]

Can anyone find a solution/formula online. No article has a link. I am a math guy and would like to see this and because some people are posting that this isn’t really true and is only some type of partial solution that does not consider enough variables.

Wouldn’t be the first time journalists get amazed when someone can multiple 2, 2 digit numbers in their head. Article 2 weeks ago about some guy who got beat up and then become a math savant could solve “complex” problems like Pythagorean’s theorem.

[Reily]

To all Another Srīnivāsa Rāmānujan Srīnivāsa Rāmānujan FRS was an Indian mathematician and autodidact who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions. From the land that gave us our numbers (integers 1 - 9) and zero!

[DuncanWaring]

Does anyone know what problem he actually solved?

As described here, it’s not that tricky; what am I missing?

[knarf]

And he never will untill it’s drummed into him over and over and over.

[daku]

The mathematic community is fortunate this kid wasn’t
in an American type grievance history class

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Occam’s razor says you’re right.

[dr_lew]

This link has comments similar to yours, but with some extra information. In particular:

The first sounds like: Ballistic trajectory with Newtonian friction.

The second: Particle-wall collision using Hertz contact model and linear damping.

[mikrofon]

Originally from Calcutta, Ray couldn’t speak a word of German when he came to Dresden four years ago – but now he is fluent

Ich bin ein Berlitzer

[steve86]

Inelastic collisions.

I hope he has discovered a fix for FR’s crashing problems also?

[cripplecreek]

I clicked on the local progressive radio station this morning and they were doing a show on how conservatives are purposely dumbing down the public school system to deny children the education of how to use critical thinking.

Liberals don't have the slightest clue about what real critical thinking is which is why they appear to be capable of learning.

[null and void]

From the land that gave us our numbers (integers 1 - 9) and zero!

Kenya gave us Zero.

[null and void]

Ich bin ein Berlitzer

*GROAN*

[Trod Upon]

The left sure love projection, don’t they? The National Socialists were masters of accusing their opponents of doing what they themselves were doing or planning to do. The left is the left, whether it’s National Socialism, Communism, Fascism, Social Democracy, Progressivism, or whatever they choose to call it next week. It’s all the same and all from the left; the only difference between any of them is how far down the path to totalitarianism they’ve able to go.

[dennisw]

Just by the headline I figured an Indian kid ..... and I was right!!!!

Good for him!!

[dennisw]

Just by the headline I figured an Indian kid ..... and I was right!!!!

Good for him!!

[thecodont]

Good for him!

And good that his parents got him started in math early.