I'm a mathematics professor, specializing in number theory.
As others have noted (the author apparently "doesn't believe in irrational numbers"), this press release is laughable and utterly absurd. Wildberger did not "solve algebra's oldest problem", or anything remotely close to that.
I checked out phys.org -- I assumed this would be the webpage of some prominent national society or something -- but it turns out to be some randos that have a publishing outfit.
I did, however, look up the original paper. Unfortunately it seems to be paywalled, although I have access through my university.
The actual paper seems to for the most part be sober, legitimate, and potentially interesting (albeit on the same scale that many many other published math papers are interesting). Except for a bit of hyperbole in the introduction, it doesn't traffic in exaggerated claims. Seems to be a legitimate effort, somewhat off the beaten track.
Ok, but given that the phys.org writeup is crap, we poor readers who have been kicked out of our universities with nothing but a degree to show for it have no clue what the paper actually says, and no way to find out. Except perhaps by spending money.
As others have noted (the author apparently "doesn't believe in irrational numbers"), this press release is laughable and utterly absurd. Wildberger did not "solve algebra's oldest problem", or anything remotely close to that.
I checked out phys.org -- I assumed this would be the webpage of some prominent national society or something -- but it turns out to be some randos that have a publishing outfit.
I did, however, look up the original paper. Unfortunately it seems to be paywalled, although I have access through my university.
The actual paper seems to for the most part be sober, legitimate, and potentially interesting (albeit on the same scale that many many other published math papers are interesting). Except for a bit of hyperbole in the introduction, it doesn't traffic in exaggerated claims. Seems to be a legitimate effort, somewhat off the beaten track.