Math Encounters — Online: “Number Theory Problems: From Easy to Undecidable”

Rational numbers are fractions such as -2/7. It turns out that the circle x2+y2=3 has no points whose coordinates are rational numbers, while the circle x2+y2=5 has infinitely many. Why do these equations behave so differently? What about more complicated equations: is there a method to decide whether there are any solutions in rational numbers? Join Bjorn Poonen, Distinguished Professor in Science at MIT, as a search for answers leads to questions about prime numbers, geometry, and problems that a computer will never be able to solve. Special introduction by C. Kenneth Fan, President of Girls’ Angle.

Math Encounters is a public presentation series celebrating the spectacular world of mathematics, presented by the Simons Foundation and the National Museum of Mathematics.

For further information, call the National Museum of Mathematics at