The conjecture essentially assumed it's possible to create a "universal map" that can direct people to arrive at a certain destination, at the same time, regardless of starting point. Experts say the proposition could have real-life applications in mapping and computer science.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23729600/


I like a good riddle but they say in the article there are uses for this. Right and there are uses for knowing what happen in the universe 10 billion years ago.

Sometimes I think we people have to much brains for our own good, what good would we get out of a universal map that can direct people to arrive at a certain destination at the same time. I for one do not want to get there when you do.

Agree here. I mean congrats on the mental prowess that it took to decipher this.

Remind me...how is this beneficial?

I'm sure many people felt the same way about going to the Moon. It isn't necessarily the act itself that is pertinent but the process to commit, or perform, the act that spins off the benefits. I can see where the logic involved may be useful in all kinds of applications such as fluid mechanics to integrated circuit design.

And how has going to the moon been beneficial? Sorry, but for all the money we have spent on space exploration, we could all have been millionaires....

I understand that it may prove to be useful if applied elsewhere. But so far, the benefits are limited to the 63 year old guys brief stint with mathematic fame.

Don't get me wrong, i'm all about advancement in useful application. So far, this renders nothing but a brief news blurb.

I would have to write a novel here to point out all the technological benefits we received from going to the moon and the subsequent NASA missions. Here are a few web sites that give some of the technology spinoffs of the space program:

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/sp....html#computer
http://www.stars4space.org/Benefits.html
http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home.html
http://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/spinoff.html

Do you think that Newton expected his discoveries to lead to space travel or computer programming etc.? The advancement of mankind's knowledge is built upon hundreds of generations of human advances in all areas of knowledge. Many, many discoveries laid dormant, sometimes for centuries, before a tangible application of that knowledge, or technology, shows up to affect change on a large scale.

What this person has discovered may not be useful for decades but my guess is it will eventually be of benefit at some point. Mankind's history is riddled with this very thing occurring over and over again. As I said, I can see this being applicable in fluid dynamics, IC design etc. Especially as the speed of integrated circuits become faster and smaller over time. To make my point, the genesis of Boolean algebra occurred in 1854 with the publishing of a pamphlet by George Boole (1815–1864). I'm sure that someone back then said his ideas were of little use to society and not worthy of further study. Where would we be today without George's flash of brilliance?