George Dantzig solved two famous problems as homework
Question asked:
“In 1939, a graduate student named George Dantzig arrived late to his statistics class at UC Berkeley. Two problems were already written on the blackboard when he walked in. Assuming they were the night’s homework, he copied them down and went home to work through them. It took him several days longer than usual, and he apologized to his professor for the delay. His professor, Jerzy Neyman — one of the most respected statisticians of his time — didn’t scold him. He was stunned into silence. The two problems Dantzig had casually solved as homework were actually famous unsolved theorems in statistics, ones that had stumped professional mathematicians for years. One of Dantzig’s solutions was prepared for publication almost immediately. He later admitted that if he’d known those problems were supposed to be impossible, he probably never would have attempted them at all. Sometimes the only thing standing between a person and the impossible is simply not being told it can’t be done.”
Summary
In 1939 George Dantzig, a graduate student at UC Berkeley, arrived late to Jerzy Neyman's statistics class, mistook two blackboard problems for homework, solved them, and later discovered they were well‑known unsolved problems in statistics. Neyman was astonished, and Dantzig’s solutions were promptly prepared for publication.
Sources 59 searched
- The Legend of the 'Unsolvable Math Problem' | Snopes.com
One day in 1939, George Bernard ... were examples of "unsolved" statistics problems, he mistook them for part of a homework assignment, jotted them down, and solved them....
- George Dantzig: Operations research phenom - Berkeley Engineering
Arriving late to a statistics class, ... homework assignment. He solved the problems and handed them in, only to learn weeks later that these were not homework, but two famously unsolved statistics problems....
- George Dantzig (1914 - 2005) - Biography - MacTutor History of Mathematics
It was Neyman. He rushed in with papers in hand, all excited: "I've just written an introduction to one of your papers. Read it so I can send it out right away for publication." For a minute I had no idea what he was talking about. To make a long story short, the problems on the blackboard which I had solved thinking they were homework were in fact two famous unsolved problems in statistics.
- Berkeley 150 Profile: George Dantzig - UC Berkeley IEOR Department - Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
George Dantzig is considered a founding father of industrial engineering and operations research, but one of his most incredible achievements took place while he was still a doctoral student at Berkeley. Arriving late to a statistics class, Dantzig scrawled down two problems written on the blackboard, thinking that they were a homework assignment.
- George Dantzig - Wikipedia
During his study in 1939, Dantzig solved two unsolved problems in statistics due to a misunderstanding. Near the beginning of a class, Professor Neyman wrote two problems on the blackboard. Dantzig arrived late and assumed that they were a homework assignment.
- Two Equations on a Blackboard Changed Everything He Thought He Knew About Math — The Uneven Path
Neyman, when confronted with the work, didn't immediately shower Dantzig with praise. Instead, the professor was apologetic. Those equations on the blackboard weren't homework at all.
- The truth behind the ‘genius’ | Commentary | dailycal.org
His professor, famous statistician Jerzy Neyman, had written two statistics problems on the blackboard. Dantzig quickly jotted them down, assuming that they were homework problems.
- The truth behind the ‘genius’ | Commentary | dailycal.org
According to Dantzig himself, the answer is no: “If I had known that the problems were not homework but were in fact two famous unsolved problems in statistics, I probably would not have thought positively, would have become discouraged, and ...
- A lesson for 2021 from a mathematician's mistake - Aleteia
The most remarkable thing in this story is this admission by George Dantzig, years later, when he became a recognized mathematician: “If I had known that the problems were not homework but were in fact two famous unsolved problems in statistics, I probably would not have thought positively, would have become discouraged, and would never have solved them.”
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