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Talk

Four Colours Suffice?

Professor Robin Wilson · Gresham College

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About

How many colours are needed to colour a map so that neighbouring countries are coloured differently? At first it seems that for very complicated maps, many colours are needed, but surprisingly four colours suffice for all maps - a fact that took over a hundred years to prove. In this lecture we commemorate the 150th anniversary of this famous problem by outlining its history and solution. The eventual proof, making extensive use of a computer, raises some interesting philosophical questions.

The talk

  1. Four Colours Suffice? 2002-10-21 · YouTube

Credits and licence

Institution
Gresham College
Speaker
Professor Robin Wilson
Year
2002
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Mathematics, History
Source
Gresham College
Licence
Educational use (Gresham College's terms), as Gresham College states it. Gresham College's terms
Attribution
Gresham College states: "We positively encourage the use of the Gresham College lecture transcripts, audio and video files for educational purposes. However, we do not allow use of Gresham College materials for commercial, personal or institutional gain."
Who can watch
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