Two American high school students, Calcee Johnson and Nikia Jackson, claim to have found new non-circular proof of the Pythagorean theorem, which has been the basis of trigonometry for thousands of years – He writes Yahoo News follows Insider. According to the American Mathematical Society, teens should submit their results to a journal.
to update: Based on the English text, we originally wrote that the theorem a² + b² = c²—where a and b are the sides of a right-angled triangle, and c is the inclusive—wasn’t proven yet, but has only had it proven correct in every example that has arisen throughout history. On the other hand, the exact formulation is that the Pythagorean theorem has so far only been proven by what is called circular proof, i.e. by using the Pythagorean theorem itself while proving the theorem, of course, assuming it to be true.
Since the theorem forms the basis of trigonometry, experts so far believe that it is impossible to prove it without accepting the validity of the theorem. However, according to Johnson and Jackson, this is “not quite true”. They were able to prove the theorem with the help of the law of sines, which does not depend on circular trigonometry.
WWL New Orleans TV reported that when the American Mathematical Association met in Georgia last week, Johnson and Jackson were the only high school students at the meeting.
So far, the two students’ claim has not passed the rigorous scientific expert review process, and has not been corroborated by other experts in the field either. At the same time, Katherine Roberts, executive director of the American Mathematical Association, encouraged young mathematicians to submit their findings to a journal where they could evaluate them. He said the association “celebrates these athletes early in their careers for sharing their work.”
Students said they are really excited to be part of the process. “There’s no such thing as being able to do something that people don’t think young people can do,” Johnson said.
