Erdős Problem #524

Partial progress by Gemini, GPT-5.2 and Grok (30 Jan 2026): improved partial result. 2 AI contributions are recorded in all.

Problem
Erdős problem #524 (analysis, probability, polynomials); current status: open
Credit
Gemini, GPT-5.2 and Grok · AI building on known literature
Checked
Listed in Tao's wiki
Timeline
First AI contribution 2025-12-27 · wiki data as of 2026-06-30
Sources
Problem page (erdosproblems.com)Tao's AI-contributions wiki
PARTIALPer Tao's AI-contributions wiki

The problem

For any t∈(0,1)t\in (0,1) let t=∑k=1∞ϵk(t)2−kt=\sum_{k=1}^\infty \epsilon_k(t)2^{-k} (where ϵk(t)∈{0,1}\epsilon_k(t)\in \{0,1\}). What is the correct order of magnitude (for almost all t∈(0,1)t\in(0,1)) for

Mn(t)=max⁡x∈[−1,1]∣∑k≤n(−1)ϵk(t)xk∣?M_n(t)=\max_{x\in [-1,1]}\left\lvert \sum_{k\leq n}(-1)^{\epsilon_k(t)}x^k\right\rvert?

Statement quoted from erdosproblems.com/524, maintained by Thomas Bloom. Original source: [Er61,p.253]. Current status there: open.

AI contributions

As recorded in Terence Tao's wiki AI contributions to Erdős problems (data as of 30 Jun 2026). 🟢 full, 🟡 partial, ⚪ unverified, 🔴 incorrect.

Date Kind AI systems Humans Outcome Literature
27 Dec, 2025 Literature search GPT-5.2 Pro — 🟡 Partial results found —
30 Jan, 2026 AI building on known literature Gemini, GPT-5.2, Grok — 🟡 Improved partial result 🟡 Sawhney (2025)
21 Apr, 2026 AI working with humans GPT-5.4 Pro Brayden Letwin, Mehtaab Sawhney 🟡 Partial result —

Caveats

The wiki's classifications are provisional and are not a benchmark. Many Erdős problems have never had a thorough literature review, so a result that looks new may later turn out to be known; some problems were also stated ambiguously or incorrectly. See the problem page for the full discussion.

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