
The Collatz conjecture is the simplest open problem in mathematics. You can explain it to any non-mathematical person and even to small children who have just learned to divide by 2. On the other hand, it is a very complex problem to solve and mathematicians suspect that a solution of the Collatz conjecture will open new horizons and develop new and important techniques in number theory.
Lately the Collatz Conjecture project has had a fair share of issues, where crunchers were able to game the points generation for their own benefits. Fortunately the team has now fixed the issues and while going through the application and server updates, they have also upgraded their website and even restarted the work-unit numbering.
Initially there was only a Windows application available but the team has just released the Linux version as well. Checking the forum, there are still some issues but I expect they will be resolved soon.
So if you are a BOINC user with some spare CPU/GPU cycles available, this could be again an interesting project to help science moving forward.



