Amateur Math Fans Crack 60-Year Puzzles Using AI Chatbots

Amateur mathematicians are cracking problems that have stumped experts for decades, and they're doing it with help from AI chatbots.

The puzzles come from Paul Erdős, a legendary Hungarian mathematician who spent over 60 years creating questions that sound simple but are incredibly hard to solve. Now, people without advanced math degrees are pairing their curiosity with AI tools to find answers that have eluded professionals.

"The questions tended to be very simple, but very hard," says Thomas Bloom, a mathematician at the University of Manchester. That's exactly what made them perfect for this new approach.

The amateur solvers aren't just getting lucky. They're using AI chatbots as thinking partners, bouncing ideas back and forth until breakthroughs emerge. The collaboration between human intuition and machine processing power is creating something neither could achieve alone.

Professional mathematicians admit they didn't see this coming. While these aren't the most cutting-edge problems in mathematics, solving Erdős questions is still a genuine achievement. The fact that amateurs can do it with AI assistance shows how much these tools have evolved.

Why This Inspires

This story isn't just about solving old math problems. It's about democratizing knowledge and breaking down barriers that once seemed permanent.

For generations, advanced mathematics felt like an exclusive club requiring years of specialized training. Now, anyone with curiosity and access to AI tools can contribute to real mathematical progress. The gate is opening.

This shift could fundamentally change how mathematics gets done. Instead of breakthroughs coming only from university labs, solutions might emerge from living rooms, coffee shops, and community centers around the world.

The amateurs solving these problems prove that passion and creativity matter just as much as credentials. They're showing that when humans and AI work together, the combination unlocks potential that neither possesses alone.

Mathematics is becoming more accessible, more collaborative, and more open to fresh perspectives than ever before.