# Four-color theorem update

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-color-theorem-update/206490>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [October 9, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-color-theorem-update/206490 "2003-10-09T14:59:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Tarjei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tarjei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarjei)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-color-theorem-update/206490/1 "2003-10-09T14:59:32Z")

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Regarding the “Did they finally solve the four-color map problem?” question found here: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_126b.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_126b.html)

A more resent proof by Robertson et.al. has removed the cloud of doubt hanging over the complex original proof of Appel and Haken. The prrof can be found here: [http://www.math.gatech.edu/~thomas/FC/fourcolor.html](http://www.math.gatech.edu/~thomas/FC/fourcolor.html)

Oh, and it’s called the four-color theorem, not the four-color “map-problem” 🙂

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**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-color-theorem-update/206490/2 "2003-10-09T15:17:39Z")

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Wow… Robin Thomas is rockin’ it up, what with the SPGT business…

Isn’t this old news?

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**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-color-theorem-update/206490/3 "2003-10-09T15:43:48Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Wow… Robin Thomas is rockin’ it up, what with the SPGT business…

Woo! A Georgia Tech man! Go!

> [@](#):
>
> Isn’t this old news?

The referenced web site was last updated in 1995, so it dates at least from then; I don’t know what may have been going on in that area since.

RR

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**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/four-color-theorem-update/206490/4 "2003-10-09T18:17:49Z")

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Yeah I saw Robin Thomas speak at a conference last month… a lot of these guys, Thomas, Bollobas, Luczak, are actually sociable and eloquent, aside from being Very Good At What They Do… not like Erdos and the like!