A Crackpot with Power

The following is an greatly abbreviated version of a sci.math group thread on an attempted proof of the four-color theorem.

• Chip Eastham 2000-10-13 :

  There is a nicely presented approach to proving the Four Color Theorem… at the following… site:

  http://www.geocities.com/dharwadker/index.html

• “Default” 2000-10-13:

  Where in the proof is the hypothesis of “requiring N colors” (not colorable with N-1 colors) used?

• Michael Varney 2000-10-14:

  (Following some banter) Go play elsewhere if you buy into 4CT crackpot proofs.

• “Default” 2000-10-14:

  The proposed 4CT proof is hardly crackpot, and may contain some new ideas (or reformulations of old ones).

• Michael Varney 2000-10-14:

  That’s what all crackpots say. Join the club.

• David Eppstein 2000-10-14:

  My first-glance reaction is that it’s an amazing collection of undigested chunks of heavy equipment. It seems more designed to confuse any expert (by making sure it contains something the expert doesn’t understand) than to convince anyone of the truth of the 4CT.

• “Default” 2000-10-15:

  Skimming the proof I did not see any place where the minimality of the chromatic number N was used, nor any explanation of why a 12-fold covering is introduced (other than it fits the numerology needed to rule out a Steiner system). This makes me skeptical about the proof, but it’s hardly crackpot.

The author of this attempted proof, Ashay Dharwadker, is now an editor of the following Open Directory Project categories:

Science: Math: Combinatorics   and
Science: Math: Combinatorics: Graph Theory.

I agree with “Default,” Eppstein, and Varney.

As “Default” notes, the proof is invalid,  since it does not even use the hypotheses of the theorem.  I pointed this out in November 2000 in a sub-page of a website in the Open Directory combinatorics category,

I also agree with Eppstein that Dharwadker’s writing seems “designed to confuse.” 

Finally, I strongly agree with Varney that Dharwadker is a crackpot.  I reluctantly arrived at this conclusion only last night, after learning that

1. Dharwadker, who formerly had edited only the graph theory Open Directory category, now is a co-editor of its parent category, combinatorics, and that
2. My website containing a criticism of Dharwadker’s work has been deleted from the Open Directory combinatics listings. This site, “Diamond Theory,” is only incidentally related to Dharwadker’s attempted proof, and has been in the Open Directory combinatorics listing for about two years.  

Crackpots are annoying, but crackpots with power are both contemptible and infuriating.  I am currently trying to rectify the appalling mistake made by whoever appointed Dharwadker to a position of responsibility.