The SIAM/Oxford 100-Digit Challenge
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Stan Wagon
Department of Mathematics, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota
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Abstract: Last February an attractive challenge was made by
L. Trefethen (Oxford Univ.). He posed 10 problems in numerical
computing (some with connections to physics), and challenged the math
community (with a $100 prize) to get 10 digits of the answer to each
problem. He said: "They're hard! If anyone gets 50 digits in total, I
will be impressed." Trefethen severely underestimated the persistence
of his audience and the power of modern software. Ninety-four teams
from around the world responded; 20 of them achieved perfect scores of
100 digits. The problems were a lot of fun and I will discuss my
team's solution to several of them. If you care to try your hand at
one, here is #4:
What is the global minimum of
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