Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture

From Elliptic Curve Crypto


The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture[1][2] relates to rational points on elliptic curves and is one of the $1,000,000 Millennium Prize problems.

The more relevant conjecture at present, of course, for such and such a sum of money, as the case may be, is whether the referenced academic “paper mills,” claimed intellectual property “rights-holders” and various associated parties have legal addresses where they may be served with lawful orders to deliver legible copies of mentioned historically significant academic literature, and restrained from hindering, obstructing or restricting the public’s rightful access to it.

Independent and private researchers will always have to punt on local libraries and avoid being institutionalized for access to academic literature, and as far as any “prize” is offered for a potential solution, we would have to confer with a state lottery or gambling commission[3] on the legalities of holding the original papers[4][5] where the problem was actually posed hostage for an outrageous $42.00 pay-per-view access fee with the tease of a $1,000,000.00 prize and a not-so-subtle threat of institutionalizing independent researchers who enjoy mathematics for its own sake and do not care to be considered problem gamblers or pornography addicts for accessing academic papers on what really ought to be a decent topic with many practical applications and no shame or dishonor.

Undergraduate level explanations are available.[6]

“And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house” [Matthew 13:57].
“And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country” [Luke 4:24].

“Algebra II for Dummies” possibly, but do not ever “research” anything more advanced than that through your local library or else you will literally be “institutionalized” as an idiot savant or a genius with autism spectrum disorder or some other such medically prescibed, court-ordered and police-enforced psychobabble rot in your hometown. The local library is for mafia homebodies and gangsters, and that is not a place you’re allowed to be a crazy cat lady or a nerdy dude with more brains than brawn.

No. There’s a dark web and bitter legal fights over access to historical papers and electronically archived documents.

And not only that, but the original papers, once obtained, are too dense and abstruse and chock full of incomprehensible mathematical gibberish, as if written by and for mathematical geniuses only. There is much writing that needs to be reduced or translated to plain English, without invented words, and without invented definitions of common words. Papers that are written in that sort of language were never intended to be published or discussed outside the ivory towers of higher academia. Those researchers have also co-opted “the law” as such on their side of all disputes, with all the tools of copyright access control as well as the obfuscation of language to keep people out.

  1. Birch, B.J. “Conjectures concerning elliptic curves.” Proceedings of Symposia in Pure Mathematics, vol. VIII, 1965, pp. 106-112. From personal website of William A. Stein, Founder/CEO SageMath, Inc.
  2. Tate, John. “On the conjectures of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer and a geometric analog.” Séminaire Bourbaki, vol. 18, no. 306, Feb 1966, pp. 415-440. Insecure pdf archive link, http only, no secure download available
  3. Ibosiola, D., Littler, A., Hörnle, J., Padumadasa, E. et al., “Evaluation of regulatory tools for enforcing online gambling rules and channelling demand towards controlled offers,” European Commission: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Publications Office, 2018. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2873/253036
  4. Birch, B.J. and Swinnerton-Dyer, H.P.F. “Notes on elliptic curves. I.” Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik, vol. 1963, no. 212, pp. 7-25. Intellectual property paywall © Walter de Gruyter GmbH; $42.00 USD pay-per-view access fee
  5. Birch, B.J. and Swinnerton-Dyer, H.P.F. “Notes on elliptic curves. II.” Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik, vol. 1965, no. 218, pp. 79-108 Intellectual property paywall © Walter de Gruyter GmbH; $42.00 USD pay-per-view access fee
  6. Johnson, Brent. “An Introduction to the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture.” Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, 2015, pp. 270-281, “Article 15?”