Many a mathematician has received a long letter from an unknown sender who claims to have found a way to trisect an angle using only a straightedge and compass. The mathematician may read passages of the letter aloud to the guffaws of colleagues at afternoon tea and then toss it out. Without even reading the details, any mathematician would know the writer is incorrect.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.