Abstract
In this chapter we discuss four famous failed attempts at the Riemann hypothesis. Though flawed, all of these attempts spurred further research into the behavior of the Riemann zeta function.
George Pólya once had a young mathematician confide to him that he was working on the great Riemann Hypothesis. “I think about it every day when I wake up in the morning,” he said. Pólya sent him a reprint of a faulty proof that had been once been submitted by a mathematician who was convinced he’d solved it, together with a note: “If you want to climb the Matterhorn you might first wish to go to Zermatt where those who have tried are buried” [73].
Lars Hörmander
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© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Borwein, P., Choi, S., Rooney, B., Weirathmueller, A. (2008). Failed Attempts at Proof. In: Borwein, P., Choi, S., Rooney, B., Weirathmueller, A. (eds) The Riemann Hypothesis. CMS Books in Mathematics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-72126-2_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-72126-2_8
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-72125-5
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