A discovery which is not shared with the world is like a tree which falls in the woods when no one is around: no one hears it. And afterward you see a fallen tree on the ground.
The difference between a fallen tree and most of these inventions is that a tree is not useful and cannot make your life much easier. Unless you knocked the tree down because you are a lumberjack. Or if you are chopping it for firewood. But it probably won't make you rich and famous unless you are chopping down a lot of trees.
For too long these marvelous discoveries have fallen in the woods with no one around to hear them. Now we can chop them up to make firewood.
One of the best things about firewood is that the fire can make s'mores, which can be delicious if they are carefully toasted and are not burnt.
DISCLAIMER: Neither Rigor Fortis nor strehlkesaga.com is licensed as a financial advisor and the below is not intended as financial advice.
There I was at the office, feeling restless and full of ambition. I started diving into what it would take to make a mobile app out of Fortis, my strength training website and dream project. I was exploring software frameworks and came across something called React Native which seemed useful. But I then stumbled upon the fact that, to make an iOS app for the iPhone, I would need a Apple computer, a Mac, to get the thing on my phone for beta testing and, eventually, to publish on Apple's App Store.
This was where the frustration hit. Macs are crazy expensive, and I thought, “Is there any way around this? Could some clever tax deductions ease the pain of this purchase?”
Naturally, I turned to my all-knowing source of truth: ChatGPT, the AI chatbot developed by Microsoft's OpenAI. I asked, in my moment of desperate financial hope, if I could somehow deduct the cost of a Mac for my “side gig” app development. To my absolute surprise, ChatGPT said yes! I could write off the expense as long as it was for the profession.
Suddenly, I was buzzing with excitement. I fired off more questions—what's required? Does the model matter? How do I ensure it's purely business? The answers rolled in, fueling a growing excitement about my coming tax-deductible tech shopping spree. I thought, “Well, if I can deduct the cost of a Mac, why not go all out and spend $5k a year on business expenses and deduct those too?”
My agile and flexible mind immediately grasped that I'd get all that money back in my tax return. I'd hit the jackpot! I was practically skipping around in my head, thinking how I'd get a refund that would cover everything and then some.
I texted my girlfriend Kristen, absolutely hyped about my brilliance. She was skeptical—unsurprising, as lesser minds are sometimes slow to appreciate genuine innovation—but I was on a roll and fortunately had the strength of character not to be slowed down. At the gym, I realized: “Wait, I can write off my gym membership too! Another $720 back each year!” I was on fire, thinking to myself, “God, how am I so smart? I've cracked the system! Everyone is going to be so impressed when they hear how I've gamed the tax world.”
I even called mom about a loan, assuring her confidently that I'd pay her back after I got my tax return—plus a little extra. After all, I'd be refunded for all my expenses, and my taxable income would drop, giving me even more back. I was a financial genius. She declined, and I guess that's just her loss. But I'm generous and will give her another chance next year.
I've since made my purchases, careful not to go over my total tax payment for the year. All that's left to do is wait. Here's to a wonderful Tax Season!
It was my first year as an undergraduate at University of California, Santa Cruz. Taking an interest in mathematics, I learned Euclid's proof that there are infinitely many prime numbers: if there are finitely many, call them \(P_1, P_2, P_3, \dots, P_N,\) then multiply them all together and add 1 to the result: \(P_1 \times P_2 \times P_3 \times \dots \times P_N + 1.\) The result is a number which is not divisible by any of \(P_1, P_2, P_3, \dots, P_N.\)
I had read around that time that researchers were constantly using extremely fast computers to find very large prime numbers. In fact, there are quite large cash prizes for discovering large primes. For example, the Electronic Frontier Foundation offers $150,000 to the first individual or group who discovers a prime number with at least 100 million decimal digits, $250,000 for the first to discover a prime with at least one billion decimal digits). Prizes for primes with at least one million digits and at least ten million digits were awarded in the years 2000 and 2009, respectively.
But wait, my distinctive mind quickly thought: why can't you just use the method that Euclid outlined to find these large primes? It turned out to be so simple! I guess the so-called 'experts' were just too smart to ask the good old 'dumb' questions. It took an outsider like me to figure out how simple the nut was to crack.
Being immediately certain in my solution, I called Gen Master Papa San to inform him of my idea, whispering conspiratorially that he ought not tell anyone. He may have been sleepy at that time, however, because he did not reply. Soon he rejoined the conversation but redirected it to his more pressing Geneological Matters and Mysteries. I felt he did not appreciate the significance of my Great Discovery, but was undeterred as, after all, it took many years for Galileo's ideas to sink in.
At that time I was still lost in my pursuit of Earthly pleasures and in need of money, and was afraid others would capitalize on my discovery. Being busy with Administrative Matters and other Brilliant Pursuits, however, I never did find time to collect the Monies.
Now that some years have passed, however, and I am more enlightened, I would rather contribute to Science and Knowledge than worry about prizes and monies. And that is why I am hereby Publishing this result generously. The prizes are still out there for any who need the money more than I do, or perhaps One who is willing to do the legwork to collect said Prize Monies and Donate them to a Worthy Cause.