Math Could Make You Rich!

Back in the Day

On August 8, 1900, David Hilbert presented a list of 23 millennium problems at a conference in Paris which collected together what he believed to be the most interesting, relevant unsolved problems in mathematics. Most of these problems have been solved over the last 100 years, with a couple of exceptions. One of these exceptions is the Riemann Hypothesis.

The Millennium Prize Problems

In May 2000 in Paris, in honor of Hilbert and the new millennium, the Clay Mathematics Institute of Cambridge announced 7 Millennium Prize Problems that have resisted solution over the years and are key to the development of mathematics. There is a million dollar prize being offered for each of these millennium problems, the Riemann Hypothesis among them.

A Tantilizing Incentive

The first person that proves the Riemann Hypothesis gets a million dollars, not to mention international fame! Interestingly, there is no monetary prize for a counterexample that proves the hypothesis to be false.

A Millennium Prize Problem Solved!

The Poincaré conjecture, another Millennium Prize Problem, has reportedly been proved by a Russian geometer named Grigory Perelman. To read about this new mathematical development, refer to the August 2006 article on Slate.com entitled "Who Cares About Poincaré?".

Math on TV

In the hit CBS television series Numb3rs, Charlie Eppes is a brilliant mathematician who helps his brother, FBI agent Don Eppes, solve crimes. In the season 1 episode entitled "Prime Suspect" which aired February 18, 2005, a 5-year-old girl is kidnapped from her birthday party. Upon finding out that the father Ethan is a mathematician and is very close to solving the Riemann Hypothesis, the motivation for the kidnapping is clear.

Another Millennium Problem Mention

In another episode of Numb3rs entitled "Uncertainty Principle", viewers are exposed to a different Millennium Prize Problem. When Charlie Eppes predicts where a group of bank robbers will hit next, but fails to predict their violent reaction to being cornered by the FBI, he is stricken with guilt. Charlie leaves the case and instead resumes work on the