A 16-year-old boy solves a difficult mathematical problem that took over 300 years to solve

A 16-year-old boy has apparently solved a difficult mathematical problem that took over 300 years to solve. When his teachers first saw the notebook containing the formula, they couldn't believe it was written by a boy.

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*Added 2009/06/01 12:06
Iraq-born teen cracks maths puzzle - Yahoo! News UK

Jiji.com: 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant boy solves historic math problem = Bernoulli numbers explained – Sweden

The math problem was solved by Mohamed Altoumaim (16), a high school student in the Swedish town of Falun. Altoumaim solved a rational number called a Bernoulli number , and showed his high school teachers a notebook in which he had written down the process and formulas he had used, but no one thought it was Altoumaim who had written it.

When Altoumaim had his written down checked by a professor at Uppsala University, he was found to be perfectly correct, and his academic ability was recognized, leading to his admission to Uppsala University.

However, Altoumaim wants to continue studying at his current high school and believes he needs to study more English and social sciences. He also said he wants to become a researcher in mathematics or physics in the future and will continue to study.

Addendum: 2009/06/01 12:06
Unfortunately, this news was false, according to the article below.

16-year-old Iraqi immigrant boy's explanation of Bernoulli numbers is a false report - (*゜∀゜)ゞ Science News Team

AFP, which first reported the news, also released the following additional news:

Iraqi teen tackles maths puzzle, but not the first university - Yahoo! News

According to the official Uppsala University website shown in the article, Altoumaim brought his solution to Bernoulli's theorem to Uppsala University, but it was rejected because it was already known in the mathematical community.

As expected, it was not an easy task, as it is a problem that has plagued the mathematical community for 300 years.