Anime fans stumbled upon a mathematical proof

Fans of a classic anime series sought to work out how long it would take to the watch a 14-episode series in every possible order as efficiently as possible. When a fan of a cult anime series wanted to watch its episodes in every possible order, they asked a question that had perplexed combinatorial mathematicians for years Math solutions can be found in surprising places, including the dark realms of the Internet. In 2011 an anonymous poster on the now infamously controversial image board 4chan posed a mathematical puzzle about the cult classic anime series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Though the bulletin board has become littered with hateful, violent and extreme content, that original post led to a solution to the sophisticated math problem. The first season of this anime series consists of 14 episodes that were designed so that you can watch them in any order you like. (For people who are as unfamiliar with the anime world as I am: an eight-part live-action thriller called ... Read full article.