Korean middle schooler claims computer-assisted proof, made with Claude, that the rhombicosidodecahedron is not Rupert (community report)

What happened

Jeong Gi-hyo (정기효), a ninth-grade student at a middle school in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, posted on GeekNews. The researchers behind the 'Noperthedron' (the first solid shown unable to pass through itself), which drew attention in 2025, had left the statement "the rhombicosidodecahedron is not Rupert" as a conjecture in 2021. The student says they solved it with a computer-assisted proof developed with Claude. The student said the work got past the point where existing methods stall.

Provider claims

The claim of a successful proof is the author's own. The collected materials include no expert review or peer review results.

Why it matters

This is a Korean case of an individual who is not a professional researcher using AI to take on an unsolved math conjecture. If verified, it would be an example of AI lowering the barrier to mathematical research.

Sources

• Community 중학생이 AI(Claude)와 함께 '자기 자신을 통과하지 못하는 입체' 추측을 증명 GeekNews