Four Color Theorem

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The four-color theorem, “states that any map in a plane can be colored using four-colors in such a way that regions sharing a common boundary (other than a single point) do not share the same color” (Weisstein, n.d.) . The objective of The Four Color Theorem is to use fewer colors without making the same colors attach. “The Four Color Theorem is important to the mathematical field considering it was first stated in 1852, but was not proved until 1976. For over one hundred and twenty years some of the best mathematical brains in the world were unsuccessful in proving one of the simplest theorems in mathematics” (Pierce 2011). The four color theorem was not proved until Appel and Haken used a computer to prove the theorem and many mathematicians believed it was cheating to let the computer do all the work and not by hand. The major parts of the four color theorem can be broken down into three parts that help us learn about its background, the use of four color theorem, and the benefits we use in today’s world. The four color theorem came into play, when mathematicians searched for ways to see the boundaries between each region or area. Author of the four color theorem, Francis Guthrie was a student at University College London where he tried to find ways to use only four colors to color the map of counties in England without making the same color attach. Guthrie was a student of Professor Augustus De Morgan when he needed to know if the theorem can be proven, but after he graduated he studied law until his brother became a student under Professor De Morgan. Later on, “He asked his brother Frederick if it was true that any map can be colored using four colors in such a way that adjacent regions (i.e. those sharing a common boundary segment, not just a point) receive different colors. Frederick Guthrie then communicated the conjecture to DeMorgan” (Robertson et al.

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