- #1
mad mathematician
- 27
- 5
Goldbach's claim: every even natural number ##n>4## can be written as a sum of two prime numbers.
Let's call this claim: G(n).
Let's try to solve it by induction.
For n=6=3+3, base check is correct.
Suppose G(n) is correct and let's try to prove that it implies G(n+2) is correct as well. (since if ##n## is even then n+1 is odd and n+2 is obviously even.
So ##n+2=p_1+p_2+2## where both p_i are prime numbers.
Now add ##2## to both sides and we get: ##n+2=p_1+p_2+2##; now both the primes are obviously odd primes (I've excluded 4). I thought of saying that obviously ##p_i+1## are even numbers so if I assume for every even integer k<n we have also G(k), then obviously p_i+1 can be wrriten as a sum of two odd prime numbers. I want to prove the following claim: every sum of four odd primes can be reduced to a sum of two odd primes.
And this would allegdly prove Goldbach's conjecture, but it maybe that this claim is harder to prove...
Let's call this claim: G(n).
Let's try to solve it by induction.
For n=6=3+3, base check is correct.
Suppose G(n) is correct and let's try to prove that it implies G(n+2) is correct as well. (since if ##n## is even then n+1 is odd and n+2 is obviously even.
So ##n+2=p_1+p_2+2## where both p_i are prime numbers.
Now add ##2## to both sides and we get: ##n+2=p_1+p_2+2##; now both the primes are obviously odd primes (I've excluded 4). I thought of saying that obviously ##p_i+1## are even numbers so if I assume for every even integer k<n we have also G(k), then obviously p_i+1 can be wrriten as a sum of two odd prime numbers. I want to prove the following claim: every sum of four odd primes can be reduced to a sum of two odd primes.
And this would allegdly prove Goldbach's conjecture, but it maybe that this claim is harder to prove...