Thursday, April 10, 2008

G.H. Hardy Redux

I was amused to read this post on Walking Randomly ...

"I am just about to go into hospital to have my wisdom teeth removed under general anesthetic, but before I go I thought I would mention that I have discovered an elementary proof of the Riemann Hypothesis and will share it with you all as soon as I get back."

Presumably, this is a humourous allusion to G.H. Hardy when he undertook what, to his mind, was a perilous trip across the English Channel, and mailed postcards to a number of friends, saying he had such a proof.

Hardy was a staunch atheist, and figured that, if he was wrong and there truly was an omniscient being, they'd never let him get away with leaving the world thinking he had found a solution to such a famous problem and taken it with him to Davy Jones' locker :-).

My best wishes for a successful operation and a complete recovery!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi

Thanks for the best wishes :)
Everything went fine thanks but I am currently on a lot of painkillers and eating my food through a straw! Still, I am sure I will survive.

Slightly disappointed you didn't believe me when I said I had a proof but glad you got the joke.

Cheers,
Mike