Julia Robinson helped define the limits of mathematical knowledge (2019)

A nice article with a nice equation:<p>42 = -80538738812075974^3 + 80435758145817515^3 + 12602123297335631^3<p>Douglas Adams would rejoice. (checked it in bc)<p>Some Background from Wikipedia:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Diophantine_set#Matiyasevich&#x27;s_theorem" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Diophantine_set#Matiyasevich&#x27;s...</a><p>&quot;Hilbert&#x27;s tenth problem asks for a general algorithm deciding the solvability of Diophantine equations. The conjunction of Matiyasevich&#x27;s result with the fact that most recursively enumerable languages are not decidable implies that a solution to Hilbert&#x27;s tenth problem is impossible.&quot;

Interesting to learn she was the little sister of Constance Reid, who wrote a fantastic biography of Hilbert which is on my desk right now.

I was sorry to read that recently Martin Davis passed. Along with JR, another giant.

I would have liked for the story to have noted, at least in passing, that 3³+4³+5³ = 6³.<p>(I found this in the brilliantly mad &quot;The celestial inspirations for Giza, Stonehenge and Washington D.C.&quot; by Robin Spivey:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.researchgate.net&#x2F;profile&#x2F;Robin-Spivey-2&#x2F;publication&#x2F;321682622_The_celestial_inspirations_for_Giza_Stonehenge_and_Washington_DC&#x2F;links&#x2F;5a31a1db0f7e9b2a2873ae35&#x2F;The-celestial-inspirations-for-Giza-Stonehenge-and-Washington-DC.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.researchgate.net&#x2F;profile&#x2F;Robin-Spivey-2&#x2F;publicat...</a><p>Along with that, the Great Pyramid&#x27;s latitude <i>in degrees</i> matches, to 6 digits, the speed of light <i>in m&#x2F;s</i> divided by 10000; the King&#x27;s chamber is precisely 5π&#x2F;3 and <i>also</i> 2φ² <i>meters</i> wide; and that latitude <i>in radians</i> is π&#x2F;6. Suffice to say that numerical coincidences everywhere are more the norm than the exception.)