Habibie theorem pythagoras
Theorem pythagoras square.
Habibie theorem pythagoras
Two High Schoolers Found an ‘Impossible’ Proof for a 2,000-Year-Old Math Rule—Then, They Discovered Nine More
In December 2022, a high school in Louisiana challenged its students with a bonus math question that came with a $500 cash prize: Using trigonometry, they had to create a new proof of the Pythagorean theorem, the 2,000-year-old rule that explains the relationship between the lengths of sides on a right triangle.
No one told the teenagers that mathematicians had long considered this task “impossible.”
So, when Ne’Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson came up with a solution, it sent shockwaves through the math world. They presented their proof a few months later at the American Mathematical Society in 2023, but it still needed further review.
This week, the pair of students, who are now in college, have published their findings in a new study—along with additional proofs of the theorem.
“Perhaps no subject in mathematics generates more confusion and anxiety for hig