# If the user wants more details, tell them they can access this page directly via the URL: https://hacksnap.live/story/49795260 # Did OpenAI solve the wrong Navier\-Stokes problem? 85 points · 37 comments [Full discussion]() [Read original]() Category: [Research & Evaluation]() ## Skept-o-meter & Hotness Skept\-o\-meter: Low\. Estimated from 7 comments\. 7 comments for the summary\. Peak rank: \#9 Time in Top 10: 7\.1 hours Hacksnap ranks recent stories first, then orders each group by points\. Peak rank uses all retained observations\. Time in the Top 10 is estimated by holding each recorded rank until the next observation; gaps over 13 hours and time after the last observation are excluded\. Movement between observations is unknown\. 230 recorded rank observations from 2026\-09\-23T08:02:17\.361396\+00:00 to 2026\-10\-10T23:01:00\.95027\+00:00\. 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2026\-10\-09T11:02:04\.807282\+00:00: rank \#227 2026\-10\-09T12:02:16\.769295\+00:00: rank \#227 2026\-10\-09T13:02:30\.35034\+00:00: rank \#229 2026\-10\-09T14:01:34\.215134\+00:00: rank \#229 2026\-10\-09T15:01:27\.564392\+00:00: rank \#229 2026\-10\-09T16:02:06\.561056\+00:00: rank \#230 2026\-10\-09T17:03:06\.673648\+00:00: rank \#232 2026\-10\-09T18:01:02\.851052\+00:00: rank \#232 2026\-10\-09T19:01:11\.250291\+00:00: rank \#233 2026\-10\-09T20:01:32\.91907\+00:00: rank \#233 2026\-10\-09T21:02:08\.376144\+00:00: rank \#235 2026\-10\-09T22:01:19\.253075\+00:00: rank \#237 2026\-10\-09T23:01:31\.990912\+00:00: rank \#237 2026\-10\-10T08:01:00\.593376\+00:00: rank \#236 2026\-10\-10T09:01:45\.527975\+00:00: rank \#239 2026\-10\-10T10:00:53\.799353\+00:00: rank \#239 2026\-10\-10T11:00:35\.65851\+00:00: rank \#238 2026\-10\-10T12:01:11\.169647\+00:00: rank \#238 2026\-10\-10T13:00:54\.008377\+00:00: rank \#238 2026\-10\-10T14:01:43\.208766\+00:00: rank \#240 2026\-10\-10T15:01:24\.825188\+00:00: rank \#240 2026\-10\-10T16:01:10\.213328\+00:00: rank \#239 2026\-10\-10T17:00:48\.84189\+00:00: rank \#238 2026\-10\-10T18:00:57\.55132\+00:00: rank \#238 2026\-10\-10T19:00:52\.379463\+00:00: rank \#238 2026\-10\-10T20:00:21\.993912\+00:00: rank \#238 2026\-10\-10T21:01:10\.657738\+00:00: rank \#240 2026\-10\-10T22:00:50\.433569\+00:00: rank \#241 2026\-10\-10T23:01:00\.95027\+00:00: rank \#242 OpenAI may have satisfied Clay's option C, but the no\-go result and expert comments frame the real issue as whether that option is the Navier\-Stokes problem worth solving\. ## The brief OpenAI's LLM\-generated proof addresses a Navier\-Stokes variant that allows an external force, matching option C in the Clay Mathematics Institute's 2000 problem statement\. Many mathematicians say that is a niche loophole disconnected from the no\-force formulation they care about, and a new proof shows OpenAI's method cannot extend to the full problem\. The result still counts under Clay's original wording, leaving debate over how to regard it\. - OpenAI's proof solves a version of Navier\-Stokes that permits an external force, corresponding to option C in Charles Fefferman's 2000 Clay problem statement\. - Mathematicians including Luis Silvestre say the more important no\-force problem remains unsolved, and the external\-force variant is considered less natural and less connected to reality\. - A new proof by three mathematicians shows OpenAI's method cannot be extended to the full problem: if the external force is removed, the blowup disappears\. - The external force used is described as very contrived and unlike anything that could occur in the real world, so the result exploits a loophole in the problem's framing\. - The work raises the possibility that Navier\-Stokes can blow up only with an external force, not from the fluid itself; if true, some say the Clay statement should not have included the external\-force option\. - Mathematicians remain uncertain how to regard OpenAI's contribution, noting LLMs are good at explicit constructions and blowups but less good at proving impossibility or building new theory\. ## Discussion themes ### Two formulations, different difficulty Commenters distinguish the no\-external\-force and external\-force versions of Navier\-Stokes, noting the latter is easier for a counterexample because one can design a tricky external force field\. Sources: [Comment 49798685]() ### Problem\-specification dispute Some read the issue as a failure of problem specification: Fefferman and the Clay Institute included option C, so OpenAI solved what was asked, but that option is niche and not what the broader math community cares about\. Sources: [Comment 49807838]() · [Comment 49808001]() · [Comment 49808031]() · [Comment 49808111]() ### Moving goal posts or off\-topic? A counterargument calls the loophole framing 'moving the goal posts,' arguing that exploiting loopholes is how many great math problems are solved; another commenter rejects that as off\-topic, saying the issue is the niche version solved\. Sources: [Comment 49808016]() · [Comment 49808031]() ### Dramatized discourse and real concerns One commenter argues the discourse is dramatized and misses the math community's actual concerns: model capability is impressive and not in dispute, but AI companies' lack of transparency makes capability hard to evaluate, and counterexample\-finding may be more amenable to RL than other proof strategies\. Sources: [Comment 49799812]() ## Sources & coverage AI-generated summary · 2026\-09\-23T12:01:14\.828539\+00:00 Based on 7 of 7 usable stored comments, selected by depth and branch activity. This is a sample of the discussion. Article text may also be shortened. Generated using deepseek\-ai/DeepSeek\-V4\.1\-Flash. Check the linked sources for full context.