Eureka! Former security guard solves 38-year-old maths puzzle

A MATHS puzzle that baffled the top minds in the esoteric field of symbolic dynamics for nearly four decades has been cracked — by a 63-year-old immigrant who once had to work as a security guard.

Avraham Trahtman, a mathematician who also toiled as a labourer after moving to Israel from Russia, succeeded where dozens failed, solving the elusive “Road Colouring Problem”.

The conjecture essentially assumed it is possible to create a “universal map” that can direct people to arrive at a certain destination, at the same time, regardless of starting point. Experts say the proposition could have real-life applications in mapping and computer science.