Checking the math behind OpenAI and Anthropic's latest headlines
OpenAI recently announced a breakthrough in solving a long-standing mathematical problem related to the planar unit distance conjecture. The achievement was made possible through a new reasoning model that utilized chain-of-thought reasoning to explore the problem in ways that human mathematicians had not. While the result is impressive, it raises questions about the practical implications and the marketing motivations behind the announcement.
- ▪OpenAI's model disproved a conjecture from discrete geometry first proposed by Paul Erdős 80 years ago.
- ▪The model used chain-of-thought reasoning to systematically explore the problem.
- ▪Experts noted that the success of the model does not imply it is 'smarter' than human mathematicians, but rather enhances their capabilities.
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Checking the math behind OpenAI and Anthropic’s latest headlinesAlways read the fine printGary MarcusMay 21, 202669218ShareOpenAI scored a big result yesterday, with respect to an Erdos problem:OpenAI@OpenAIToday, we share a breakthrough on the planar unit distance problem, a famous open question first posed by Paul Erdős in 1946. For nearly 80 years, mathematicians believed the best possible solutions looked roughly like square grids. An OpenAI model has now disproved that 7:06 PM · May 20, 2026 · 6.93M Views688 Replies · 2.64K Reposts · 19.2K LikesClearly impressive. But as with so much else, it should be viewed with skepticism.
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