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+ - 17-year-old Rutvik Oza Solves an Unsolved Problem in Mathematics->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "An Indian teen has recently proposed a solution to an unsolved problem in mathematics. The 17-year-old young achiever, Rutvik Oza, a student of The H. B. Kapadia New High School, from Ahmedabad, Gujarat has now put a full stop to another open problem in the field of maths by providing a closed formula for the problem called Reve's Puzzle (also commonly known as the 4-peg Tower of Hanoi Problem).

When asked about how was he feeling, "Thrilled! I really didn't realize at first that the problem that I had solved was an open problem in mathematics. It was only later that I reckoned after doing some resourcing on the web, that it was an open problem," said Oza. Brought up in a middle class family, the teen dedicates his achievement to his father, Mahesh Oza, "It's all due to my father. He sowed the seeds of mathematics in me from my childhood. I dedicate this to him." he says. "It almost took me a week's time to get to the formula. It involved data analysis and pattern recognition," said Rutvik Oza.

When asked about his favorite maths giant, he said, "Newton, Ramanujan, Gauss and a long list of others to follow. There are many. It gives me goosebumps when I think about those greats.

"Mathematics interests me a lot. May it be any area of it — arithmetic, algebra or geometry. I love them all. It strengthens the faculties of originality, creativity and novelty in one's brain. Memorizing it won't help. That's the way it's taught in our schools here. I criticize that method of teaching fervently. Hardly any real mathematics is taught at the schools. I do not consider the schools responsible for it but yes, the entire system is definitely at fault," he added. When asked for a message that he wished to give his fellow teenagers, he said, "Do what you love! Follow your dreams. Expect for no support from anybody and overcome all obstacles that hinder you. No other mantra.""
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Comment: My favourites... (Score 1) 321

by tao (#42400057) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: What Was Your Favorite Web Comic of 2012?

1.) Pearls Before Swine ( http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine?ref=comics )

2.) Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal ( http://www.smbc-comics.com/ )
Examples:
* http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2835#comic
* http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2560#comic
* http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2674#comic

3.) Romantically Apocalyptic ( http://romanticallyapocalyptic.com/ )

4.) A softer world ( http://asofterworld.com/ )

Comment: Re:Working to cover for the USA (Score 1) 340

by tao (#42025501) Attached to: On Nov. 22, 2012, I expect to be ...

I've always been lucky enough to have reasonable managers; we just agree on registering the vacation to have taken place in, say, July/August, then I go on vacation whenever it suits me and the project best.

Usually I take my summer vacation in September or October (especially October kinda sucks to spend in Finland anyway, so it's a great time to go travelling, also the tickets are generally a lot cheaper then), but with this approach I can also move a week to spring if i want to, since the salary office won't need to be involved.

Patents

+ - Samsung files motion to lift ban on Galaxy Tab 10.1-> 3

Submitted by dsmalle
dsmalle writes "On Groklaw: The "Alice in Wonderland of juries" didn't find the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringing Apple's 'D889 patent. Samsung Moves to Quickly Lift Preliminary Injunction on Galaxy 10.1.
It wouldn't surprise anyone after reading more on the jury that Apple will get less out of Samsung than it imagined..."
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Apple

+ - Blame a dysfunctional patent system for Apple Samsung decision-> 1

Submitted by
SternisheFan
SternisheFan writes "Michael Hiltzik of the L.A. Times wrote A considerare article concerning the recent Apple/Samsung court decision...
        "Whether you think that Apple is already too big for its britches or that Samsung deserved to get slammed for $1 billion by a Silicon Valley jury last week for infringing on the iPhone design, there's no doubt where the blame for this corporate firefight lies. The guilty party is the U.S. Patent Office."
        "(There being good, viable reasons for 20 year patents on medical products), software, on the other hand, is cheaper to develop and easy to place on the market. Giving it 20 years of protection can only stifle creativity and competition. On those grounds, the Electronic Frontier Foundation proposes to cut software patents to five years; prevent damages from being based on the entire market value of a product when only a small piece of it infringes; and require much more detailed and narrow applications in software cases. That would be a start to rectifying a dysfunction in the patent system that has been developing for more than 20 years, and certainly to prevent absurd verdicts like the one handed down last week in San Jose."
        So is the patent system broken when it comes to software? Or will I forever have to cross the Canadian border in order to buy Samsung devices?"
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Comment: Re:Sexual assault, huh? (Score 1) 1065

by tao (#41007767) Attached to: UK Authorities Threaten To Storm Ecuadorian Embassy To Arrest Julian Assange

You're correct that Sweden isn't a NATO country. But to say that Sweden does not have strong ties to the US is bullshit. Sweden has previously assisted the CIA to transfer two persons who were seeking asylum in Sweden to Egypt where they could be tortured. This in direct violation with international laws.

Sweden has also acted as a happy sock puppet for the US in the whole The Pirate Bay fiasco.

Sweden is definitely an ally of the US, and as for high integrity... I think that went out of the window with the FRA law ("Yeah, any and all information can and will be exchanged with foreign intelligence services"), The Pirate Bay, weapon exports to dictatorships, etc.

Comment: Food trip (Score 1) 240

by tao (#40943801) Attached to: On my summer vacation, I did / will do / am doing:

I'll do a food trip, as usual. Most years I choose my destinations based on the cuisine in the country as whole (hence I've been to Spain, South Korea, Italy, France and India the last few years), but this year I decided to pick just one restaurant (The Waterside Inn in Bray, UK).

Hopefully I'll be able to score a reservation at The Fat Duck (also in Bray, UK) or Noma (Copenhagen, Denmark) next year.

Censorship

+ - Swear in public? Pay $20 fine in Mass. town-> 2

Submitted by PolygamousRanchKid
PolygamousRanchKid writes "Residents in Middleborough have voted to make the foul-mouthed among them pay fines for swearing in public. Officials insist the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teens and other young people in the downtown area and public parks. The measure could raise questions about First Amendment rights, but state law does allow towns to enforce local laws that give police the power to arrest anyone who "addresses another person with profane or obscene language" in a public place.

Another local merchant, Robert Saquet, described himself as "ambivalent" about the no-swearing proposal, likening it to try to enforce a ban on the seven dirty words of George Carlin, a nod to a famous sketch by the late comedian. "In view of words commonly used in movies and cable TV, it's kind of hard to define exactly what is obscene," said Paquet, who owns a downtown furniture store.

What about if they say 'Jehovah' . . . ?"
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When I left you, I was but the pupil. Now, I am the master. - Darth Vader

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