Conjecture

In mathematics, a conjecture is a proposition that is proffered on a tentative basis without mathematical proof. Quotes The dependence of so many results on Riemann's challenge is why mathematicians refer to it as a hypothesis rather than a conjecture. The word 'hypothesis' has the much stronger connotation of a necessary assumption that a mathematician makes in order to build a theory. 'Conjecture', in contrast, represents simply a prediction of how mathematicians believe their world behaves. Many have had to accept their inability to solve Riemann's riddle and have simply adopted his prediction as a working hypothesis. If someone can turn the hypothesis into a theorem, all those unproven results would be validated. Marcus du Sautoy The Music of the Primes http://books.google.com/books?id=p8ECL3GScZoC&pg=PA8 31 May 2012 HarperCollins Publishers 978-0-00-737587-5 8 External links Category:Mathematics