Two high school students from an all-girls Catholic school in New Orleans solved a 2,000-year-old mathematical puzzle as part of a math contest.
Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson independently proved the Pythagorean theorem using trigonometry, becoming the only known people besides a mathematician in 2009 to do so with that method.
They spent two months working intensely on the bonus problem outside of class.
Their proof was submitted to an American Mathematical Society conference and received widespread attention, including praise from Michelle Obama.
“I started something. I need to finish it,” Calcea said. “‘Cause I was like ‘$500 is a lot of money. So I — I would like to at least try.”
Calcea’s parents, Cal and , recalled how hard their daughter worked on the frustrating puzzle.
“She was like, ‘Mom, this is a little bit too much,’” Calcea’s mother CeCe Johnson said. “So then I started looking at what she really was doing, and it was pages and pages and pages of, like, over 20 or 30 pages for this one problem.”
“Yeah, the garbage can was full of papers, which she would, you know, work out the problems, and if that didn’t work, she would ball it up, throw it in the trash,” Calcea’s father Cal Johnson said.
“Personally, I did not,” Neliska Jackson said. “‘Cause, most of the time, I don’t understand what she’s doing.”
“Did you think anyone would solve it?” math teacher Michelle Blouin Williams was asked.
“Well, I wasn’t necessarily looking for a solve. So, no, I didn’t,” Williams said.
While celebrated for their achievement, the students said they did not consider themselves math geniuses and wanted to be recognized for the work rather than attributes like their race or gender.
“So, are you math geniuses?” Calcea and Ne’Kiya were asked.
“I think that’s a stretch,” Calcea said.
“If not genius, you’re really smart at math,” an interviewer said.
“Not at all,” Ne’Kiya said, laughing.
“Well, our teacher approached us and was like, ‘Hey, you might be able to actually present this.’ I was like, ‘Are you joking?’ But she wasn’t,” Ne’Kiya said. “So, we went. I got up there. We presented, and it went well, and it blew up.”
“They’re not unicorns?” the interviewer later asked.
“Oh, no, no. If they are unicorns, then every single lady that has matriculated through this school is a beautiful black unicorn,” Williams said.
Both went on to study other fields in college despite accomplishing additional mathematical proofs.
“So, wait a minute. Neither one of you is going to pursue a career in math?” the interviewer asked.
“I may take up a minor in math, but I don’t want that to be my job job,” Calcea said.
“Yeah, people might expect too much out of me if I become a mathematician,” Ne’Kiya added.
“We found five, and then we found a general format that could potentially produce at least five additional proofs,” Calcea said.
Their story demonstrated the academic potential of students at their underfunded school which maintains a perfect graduation and college acceptance rate through strict rules and community support.
