Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken G
That's amazing-- a proof that is assumed correct until shown to be otherwise, just because it is so long!
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Actually this proof isn't too long. It has been peer reviewed and is considered correct.
There are proofs which are too long, though. The proof that the most efficient way of stacking spheres is in a pyramidal pattern runs to hundreds of pages and includes a complicated computer program. The proof of the 4 color map problem includes the results of a computer program which are too long to be reviewed in a human lifetime.