Talk:Four color theorem
Created.--Thomas Wright Sulcer 04:06, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
Needs more wikilinks by persons who know which mathematical articles we've got and what they're called. Could use more pictures of diagrams?--Thomas Wright Sulcer 04:18, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
- Wow! Looks impressing. (I have only a slight idea of this matter.) Boris Tsirelson 06:11, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
- You could also add an external link from WP to here (as I did for "plane" for instance); it does not add google juice, but can add readers. Boris Tsirelson 06:21, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks Boris!!! I no longer have a Wikipedia account but feel free to add the link from WP. The two equations are from WP and some of the proof-logic from WP is here, rewritten, but other than that I'd say it's 90% new.--Thomas Wright Sulcer 11:24, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
- Could you forget that WP can be edited by everyone? Anyway, I did. By the way, I see, you did not use your sandbox for preparing it. I wonder, did you write all of it first on your computer, locally? Boris Tsirelson 12:21, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
- Yes. My ninth grader mentioned it and I got curious. The Euler theorem checks out. Still, overall, I'm not satisfied that it does an adequate job of explaining things in the philosophical sense, but I think this CZ version here is the best one out there on the web (that I could find). It needs wikilinks but I'm less familiar with what other math articles CZ has. I'll be adding diagrams to get the idea across clearer.--Thomas Wright Sulcer 12:59, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
(undent) I'm also eager to see how this develops; the coloring problem was one of those mathematical things that computer science programs touched on but never really explored.
- I'm wondering whether in twenty years some mathematician will come up with a better proof. Clearly the current one seems clumsy to me, like it should be logical, simple, clear. 633 possibilities -- clumsy.--Thomas Wright Sulcer 13:17, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
Mentioning your ninth grader reminds me of a book series I've always liked, but don't know is still being published: the New Mathematical Library. Emphasizing graphics rather than formal notation and derivations, it takes on topics such as group theory, topology, cryptography, etc., in a manner accessible to a bright high school student. Might be a very good background source.
- Thanks for the refernce. I'll see if I can get that book for him and for me.--Thomas Wright Sulcer 13:17, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
Apropos not using sandboxes: I vary. Sometimes, whether I use a sandbox or not, I like to start writing in a word processor with outlining, more powerful editing, etc. Open Office may turn out better than Word 2003, although I may also start combining with string processing languages for large tables and such. I use the sandbox when I need to test wikitables and such, but otherwise, and admittedly with a lot of direct writing experience, start in mainspace. It would be nice if some subpages could be tested in userspace, but it is possible to do Related Articles without full R-template support. Howard C. Berkowitz 13:05, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
- So that's your secret. It's been bugging me how prodigious a writer you are, and I'm impressed that when you work on things, they continually improve. Sometimes I feel there's a ceiling in which my writing can't get better, but you break through the ceilings all the time. I watch how your articles keep getting better and it challenges me to get up to your level.--Thomas Wright Sulcer 13:17, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
Colors on France
Think they're too loud. If others agree I can switch them. --Thomas Wright Sulcer 13:56, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
- You may not use the colors of Freedom Fries or, for that matter, Poutine. Howard C. Berkowitz 14:12, 19 April 2010 (UTC)