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- URL: https://x.com/EricLengyel/status/1781130015209574593
- Author: Eric Lengyel (@EricLengyel)
- Posted: 2024-04-19 01:17:42
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1/ @EricLengyel
This is a few years old, but holy crap, I can’t believe a peer-reviewed journal actually published a paper claiming to have found an 8D associative division algebra. This was proven impossible over 100 years ago. (It follows from Hurwitz’s theorem.) 1/4
https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2020/09/new_normed_division_algebra_fo.html
2/ @EricLengyel
The paper claims that the 8D division algebra is the even part of the geometric algebra Cl(4,0). Any qualified reviewer would have known that the even part of Cl(4,0) has zero divisors (like 1 + e₁₂₃₄), instantly proving the paper wrong, but it somehow still got through! 2/4
3/ @EricLengyel
This is one more example of how the value of peer review has been taking a nose dive. Nowadays, if something is peer reviewed, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any good at all. (Conversely, if something is not peer reviewed, it doesn’t mean it’s of questionable quality.) 3/4
4/ @EricLengyel
This paper did end up getting retracted, but it must have been very embarrassing for the journal. 4/4
https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2020/10/no_new_normed_division_algebra.html
Branches: 2024-04-20-JasonHise64-i-wonder-how-much-the-problems-with-reliability