ncku-talk2010-09-23

NCTS(South)/ NCKU Math Colloquium

DATE 2010-09-23　15:10-16:00

PLACE R204, 2F, NCTS, NCKU

SPEAKER Prof. Edmund Puczylowski（Institute of Mathematics, University of Warsaw, Poland）

TITLE Sometimes we are able to answer questions asked by children

ABSTRACT There is a saying that really substantial questions are those asked by children. Here is such a (mathematical) problem, which potentially could be asked by, say, a 10 years old boy or girl.
Can a square be split into an odd number of triangles, all of them of the same area? This, so elementary to formulate, question, requires quite non-trivial arguments to be answered. The aim of the talk is to sketch a proof (as far as I know it is the only one known). It is based on the existence of so called 2-adic norm on reals numbers. This is not elementary at all, and we restrict ourselves to say what it is and check some of its properties needed for the proof.

NCTS(South)/ NCKU Math Colloquium

DATE	2010-09-23　15:10-16:00

PLACE	R204, 2F, NCTS, NCKU

SPEAKER	Prof. Edmund Puczylowski（Institute of Mathematics, University of Warsaw, Poland）

TITLE	Sometimes we are able to answer questions asked by children

ABSTRACT	There is a saying that really substantial questions are those asked by children. Here is such a (mathematical) problem, which potentially could be asked by, say, a 10 years old boy or girl. Can a square be split into an odd number of triangles, all of them of the same area? This, so elementary to formulate, question, requires quite non-trivial arguments to be answered. The aim of the talk is to sketch a proof (as far as I know it is the only one known). It is based on the existence of so called 2-adic norm on reals numbers. This is not elementary at all, and we restrict ourselves to say what it is and check some of its properties needed for the proof.