She stared straight forward without squinting, and started her work. The problem was simple, she thought. Simple enough to be used as an example in a beginning calculus course.
The only hitch – no one had been able to figure out the proof. Ever.
Hours dragged by. A ferry went upriver. Another ferry went downriver. The waves crossed and recrossed, gathered and broke: the answer came flashing like light on water.
That night, she wrote a letter to the professor who’d told her that girls couldn’t do math.
“Proof of the Jacobian Conjecture. Q. E. D.”
———-
After a couple weeks off, I’m back like a vertebrae. That writer’s bug just won’t stop biting, much like the fleas my cats brought in recently. Anyway…every Friday, writers from all around the world write 100 word (or thereabouts) flash fiction based on a photo posted that Wednesday on Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ blog.
I welcome constructive criticism; without it I cannot grow as a writer. The weekly photo that inspired this story is below:
glossarch 
Lots of time to think on guard duty. 🙂
For some reason I am reminded of Wittgenstein, working as a hospital porter, a lab assistant and (in one story I heard) a ticket collector on the railways and all the time thinking deep philosophical thoughts.
Yeah, that was my thought as well. Particularly if one was a genius, one could probably come up with some truly profound things if one had nothing else to do but think.
I have no idea of the maths (and looking up the Jac. Con. only confused me) but I enjoyed the image of, ‘The waves crossed and recrossed, gathered and broke..’ and her sitting there watching at them.
Thank you!
Wow, and she can do math in her head. I’m not sure what the Jacobian Conjecture is. I will look it up! Nice one.
Dear Danny,
Math has never been my strong suit. In fact calculators were invented for such as I. I did have to look up Jacobian Conjecture. So I sort of learned something. Good story.
shalom,
Rochelle
The life of the mind. Loved this take, Danny.
janet
Impressive…myself I was happy counting windows… 🙂