Borsuk conjecture

The Borsuk conjecture asserted that every bounded subset of ${\mathbb{R}}^d$ with positive diameter can be partitioned into $d+1$ subsets of strictly smaller diameter. It is false in sufficiently high dimension.

Kahn and Kalai represented uniform subsets by quadratic sign vectors so that diameter pairs correspond to one forbidden intersection size. The Frankl-Wilson theorem bounds each smaller-diameter part, forcing exponentially many parts while the ambient dimension grows only quadratically.

The unit ball in ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ can be covered by at most $9^n$ balls of radius $1/4$. A maximal $1/4$-separated set supplies the centres, and disjoint radius-$1/8$ balls around them fit inside the ball of radius $9/8$.