Wow! Two high school seniors solved a mathematical puzzle that has stumped mankind for 2,000 years. "60 Minutes" did a nice feature on the pair, and earned themselves a Community Note in the process.
Two high school seniors solved a mathematical puzzle that was thought to be impossible for 2,000 years. @BillWhitakerCBS reports, Sunday. https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW pic.twitter.com/iPhsZiERsc
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 2, 2024
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
This puzzle was solved 15 years ago…
I studied physics and this isn't a discovery, it was published in a paper over 15 years ago, they've just expressed the same method differently by using a more inefficient method.
— Lord Miles (@real_lord_miles) May 4, 2024
Not only was this solved 15 years ago, their method is wildly inefficient.
— Vince (@VincenzoPala) May 4, 2024
This was solved 15 years ago by some white guy, but that wouldn’t be “60 Minutes worthy” now wouldn’t it? pic.twitter.com/VixjrNs1lp
— iamyesyouareno (@iamyesyouareno) May 4, 2024
You're kidding, right?! Or deliberately lying?https://t.co/2xTdt8RAD5
— Sanёk (@RU_SpaceMarine) May 4, 2024
Congratulations, you just accomplished something that was already accomplished.
— Cowboy Philosopher (@CowboyPhilosph1) May 4, 2024
Remember when 60 Minutes used to be about journalism and not DEI...
Good for them but would it still be a story if it wasn’t black women?
— Agent Orange (@OU812000) May 4, 2024
We may never know.
Cringe pandering, and misleading. Everyone should know by now not to trust anything 60 Minutes sells.
— Augustina 🇻🇦 (@AugustinaJJD) May 3, 2024
The replies to this post are mostly stupid and racist, but I blame YOU, @60Minutes.
— K. Wade 🇺🇸🫱🏽🫲🏼🇮🇱 (@Kwade79) May 4, 2024
Your sensationalist headline completely misrepresented the point of the accomplishment, leading to replies based on your presentation instead of on the reality of what they did.
But why would "60 Minutes" misrepresent a story in the headline?
Wouldn’t this news be everywhere if the headline were literally true?
— 🍗🎄 Unfollowing Everyone Acosta🎄🍗 (@JayPark71553294) May 4, 2024
This is misleading because the Pythagorean Theorem has already been proven a few hundred times already over the past 2,000 years.
— Pretty Damned Hot 🔥 (@PrettyDamnedHot) May 3, 2024
There is actually a published book that shows 370+ ways to prove it.
A few months ago I posted about this and people tried to deny someone else did it before them and called me racist for pointing it out, lol.
— Blunty (@arkivx) May 4, 2024
I’m no mathematician but I thought they just rephrased an already discovered solution?
— joe (@pointguardjoe) May 4, 2024
It's still a very impressive achievement. I don't see an issue with celebrating it especially if these achievements are rarer in the black community
— Henny (@GhendogSupreme) May 4, 2024
We're all for more black women going into STEM. Maybe these two will be an inspiration. The post did lead to a lot of "Black girl magic" posts and arguments against DEI, but the "60 Minutes" headline is completely misleading. Interview the guy who solved it 15 years ago.
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