Giftedcenters on the Navier-Stokes problem, prompting many viewers of the 2017 drama to wonder what the unsolved math problem is — and whether real-life mathematicians have since solved it. Directed by Marc Webb,Giftedfollows seven-year-old Mary Adler (Mckenna Grace), a young mathematical genius who is sent to live with her uncle, Frank Adler (Chris Evans in one of his best roles), in the wake of her mom’s death.Mary’s late mother, Diane, was also a brilliant mathematician, but she was seemingly driven to death by suicide after failing to solve the Navier-Stokes problem.
Determined to give Mary a different life, Frank sends the young girl to a traditional elementary school. However, Mary’s teacher quickly realizes her pupil’s promise as a mathematician. Eventually, Frank winds up fighting against his estranged mathematician mother, Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan), for custody of Mary. Unlike Frank,Evelyn believes it is Mary’s responsibility to dedicate herself to math. If Evelyn has her way, Mary will spend her life on the Navier-Stokes problem too, cementing the equation as a key plot detail. As a result, understanding the Navier-Stokes problem’s status in the real world beyondGiftedis of central importance.
What The Navier-Stokes Problem Is & Why It’s So Important
The Navier–Stokes Existence & Smoothness Is One Of The Unsolved Millennium Prize Problems
To fully understand what the Navier-Stokes problem is, it’s important to recognize the context surrounding it. In 2000, the Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI), a nonprofit foundation, pledged $1 million dollars to whomever first solved the so-called Millennium Prize Problems. At the time, these complex mathematical problems were deemed unsolvable. A century earlier, mathematician David Hilbert composed a set of 23 then-unsolvable problems, prompting those who participated in solving them to drive progress in the fields of 20th-century mathematics and science.CMI believed the Millennium Prize Problems could, similarly, kick-start progressin 21st-century mathematics.
Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture
Hodge conjecture
Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness
P versus NP problem
Poincaré conjecture
Riemann hypothesis
Yang–Mills existence and mass gap
Unsolved
In fluid mechanics, the Navier-Stokes equation is “a partial differential equation that describes the flow of incompressible fluids” (viaBritannica).These partial differential equations are able to describe the motion of viscous fluid substances, making them useful in understanding the physics of phenomena that occur in scientific and engineering disciplines. For example, the equations are useful in modeling ocean currents or the weather. Even though the Navier-Stokes equations are widely used, they often factor in turbulence — physics' greatest unsolved problem.
10 Best Movies About Young Geniuses
Whether these young geniuses are chess masters or masters of physics, these movies showcase the triumphs and tribulations of having a high IQ.
“The complex vortices and turbulence, or chaos, that occur in three-dimensional fluid (including gas) flows as velocities increase have proven intractable to any but approximate numerical analysis methods,” Britannica notes. Essentially,mathematicians have been unable to prove whether “smooth solutions” always existin three dimensions (viaLindo Systems Inc.). As a result, the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem remains one of the field’s seemingly impenetrable quandaries.
People Have Claimed To Have Solved The Navier-Stokes Problem After Gifted
Only One Of CMI’s Millennium Prize Problems Has Been Solved Successfully
AlthoughGiftedisn’t based on a true story, it seems accurate thattrying to find a clear solution to the Navier-Stokes problem could consume one’s life. Over the last two decades, several mathematicians have claimed to have solved the Navier-Stokes problem as outlined by CMI. However, the Clay Mathematics Institute still lists it as “unsolved.” The supposed solutions have all turned out to be wrong, according to CMI, likely because the Navier-Stokes equations for an incompressible fluid are inherently flawed. Although the equations work, “there is no proof that solutions exist for all possible situations” (viaNewScientist).
15 Movies With Surprisingly Accurate Science
Most movies rely on the suspense of belief to justify some of the science involved in the plot, but some surprisingly nail the scientific accuracy.
Since the Navier-Stokes equations are partial differential equations, which means the solution would change depending on the initial values used and other foundational circumstances. (Fluids behave differently depending on the space they inhabit, for example.)There’s nothing necessarily constant about the Navier-Stokes problem— and there’s no one right, end-all solution. That said, CMI wanted mathematicians to prove something more broadly about the Navier-Stokes' existence and smoothness. That said, it’s even more complicated than whatChris Evans' underrated drama,Gifted, reveals.
Sources:Britannica,Lindo Systems Inc.,NewScientist
Gifted
Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.
