Duncan's conjecture

[fltdabbler]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

It isn't a matter of naivete. The first thing to do with ANY such conjecture
is to test it. A tiny bit of computing would have revealed that the conjecture
was false. It is also somewhat arrogant to name your own conjecture.
If others want to credit you, that is fine.

1. Agreed; I don't have access to (or familiarity with) computing resources for such testing. I realize it must be annoying for such as myself to waltz in spouting ideas which a) are old hat and b) subject to approaches which to you are second nature and are a first line of attack. I'll be more careful & thorough in the future. I did test it by hand though obviously not up to 127. I am embarrassed that 127 is so small and was within my means to check; I didn't expect that.

2. I wasn't aware of the strength of the word conjecture: an ignorance of etiquette. I already know not to use "postulate" - what word(s) would have been appropriate? Supposition?

[Orgasmic Troll]

Originally Posted by fltdabbler

1. Agreed; I don't have access to (or familiarity with) computing resources for such testing. I realize it must be annoying for such as myself to waltz in spouting ideas which a) are old hat and b) subject to approaches which to you are second nature and are a first line of attack. I'll be more careful & thorough in the future. I did test it by hand though obviously not up to 127. I am embarrassed that 127 is so small and was within my means to check; I didn't expect that.

2. I wasn't aware of the strength of the word conjecture: an ignorance of etiquette. I already know not to use "postulate" - what word(s) would have been appropriate? Supposition?

Given that you are posting here, you have the resources. We are not responsible for your lack of familiarity.

The fact that you "see" a false result as obvious is also troubling. Why are you pretending to do mathematics? What exactly is the point of creating a conjecture just to make a conjecture? Mathematicians don't sit around asking random questions just to get their name attached to something.

Do not come here to have your education handed to you. There are institutions in place for just that purpose. They are called "colleges" and "universities". They provide the structure to speed the process of giving you an effective foundation. If you don't have access, you should expect the process of building your foundation to be slow and frustrating. That's why colleges cost so much, they're worth it.

Now, this forum is a fantastic resource, for those who have the initiative to do some work beforehand. You give no evidence for why the conjecture is true, or any sense that you have done any analysis on it for more than an hour or so. This belies a lack of initiative.

Go find books yourself. There are thousands to pick from. Read voraciously. Work the problems. Read the footnotes. When you find a book that touches on something that you think is interesting, go read the books it references. When you come to a dead-end, THEN you come here and ask for guidance. Do not use the expertise of the members of this forum to circumvent your own lack of initiative.

[fltdabbler]

Originally Posted by Orgasmic Troll

Given that you are posting here, you have the resources. We are not responsible for your lack of familiarity.

The fact that you "see" a false result as obvious is also troubling. Why are you pretending to do mathematics? What exactly is the point of creating a conjecture just to make a conjecture? Mathematicians don't sit around asking random questions just to get their name attached to something.

Do not come here to have your education handed to you. There are institutions in place for just that purpose. They are called "colleges" and "universities". They provide the structure to speed the process of giving you an effective foundation. If you don't have access, you should expect the process of building your foundation to be slow and frustrating. That's why colleges cost so much, they're worth it.

Now, this forum is a fantastic resource, for those who have the initiative to do some work beforehand. You give no evidence for why the conjecture is true, or any sense that you have done any analysis on it for more than an hour or so. This belies a lack of initiative.

Go find books yourself. There are thousands to pick from. Read voraciously. Work the problems. Read the footnotes. When you find a book that touches on something that you think is interesting, go read the books it references. When you come to a dead-end, THEN you come here and ask for guidance. Do not use the expertise of the members of this forum to circumvent your own lack of initiative.

Points taken. I didn't intend to misuse the forum; indeed I was grateful for the time spent on my query & said so. Especially for the pointers toward literature which I asked for and received. This forum is a fantastic resource & I don't take it for granted. As to attaching my name, I misused the word 'conjecture' as I explained. Thanks once again for all the responses to the initial query: I rest a little wiser...

[fltdabbler]

... and, yes, I'm off now... Though maybe a mod could rename the title of the thread?