Abel-Ruffini theorem by Ciro Santilli 37 Updated 2025-07-16
Video 1.
But why is there no quintic formula? by MathKiwi
. Source. 10 minutes, that's about the right length, well done.
Algebraic number field by Ciro Santilli 37 Updated 2025-07-16
The set of all algebraic numbers forms a field.
This field contains all of the rational numbers, but it is a quadratically closed field.
Like the rationals, this field also has the same cardinality as the natural numbers, because we can specify and enumerate each of its members by a fixed number of integers from the polynomial equation that defines them. So it is a bit like the rationals, but we use potentially arbitrary numbers of integers to specify each number (polynomial coefficients + index of which root we are talking about) instead of just always two as for the rationals.
Each algebraic number also has a degree associated to it, i.e. the degree of the polynomial used to define it.
There's a billion simple looking expressions which are not known to be transcendental numbers or not. It's cute simple to state but hard to prove at its best.
Open as of 2020:
Bibliography:
Video 1.
Why π^π^π^π could be an integer by Stand-up Maths (2021)
Source. Sponsored by Jane Street. Shame.
Diophantine equation by Ciro Santilli 37 Updated 2025-07-16
Sometimes systems of Diophantine equations are considered.
Problems generally involve finding integer solutions to the equations, notably determining if any solution exists, and if infinitely solutions exist.
The general problem is known to be undecidable: Hilbert's tenth problem.
The Pythagorean triples, and its generalization Fermat's last theorem, are the quintessential examples.
Once you hear about the uncomputability of such problems, it makes you see that all Diophantine equation questions risk being undecidable, though in some simpler cases we manage to come up with answers. The feeling is similar to watching people trying to solve the Halting problem, e.g. in the effort to determine BB(5).
Waring's problem by Ciro Santilli 37 Updated 2025-07-16
And when it can't, attempt to classify which subset of the integers can be reached. E.g. Legendre's three-square theorem.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
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