When their high school teacher challenged the class to create a mathematical proof that hasn’t been solved for over 2,000 years, students Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson refused to shy away from the seemingly impossible. Instead, the duo made history with groundbreaking discoveries that had stunted mathematicians in the past.
It was in December of 2022 when math professor at the St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans, Louisiana, Michelle Blouin Williams, initiated a challenge that was perplexing enough to have a $500 cash reward for whoever achieved it-maybe this was because no one ever had in the past. The challenge was to write a mathematical proof for the Pythagorean Theorem whilst using trigonometry to prove the equation.
The Pythagorean Theorem is a fundamental math equation that shows how to find the missing side length of a right triangle. The equation, which is A² + B² = C², showcases how the longest side of a right triangle (i.e., the hypotenuse) when raised to the second power is equal to the sum of each remaining side length squared. What makes proving this equation with trigonometry so hard is the fact that first of all, the Pythagorean Theorem incorporates both algebra and geometry. On top of this, trigonometry is widely based on the theorem as well. In order to create a proof like this, there are endless tedious calculations that need to be made, and in order for the proof to be valid all room for error needs to be eliminated as well as any circular theories that use the Pythagorean Theorem to prove itself. Achieving a proof like this is willingly throwing yourself down a multidimensional math rabbit hole, which once again is why many math scholars found this to be unfathomable.
Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson, who were high school seniors at the time, dedicated themselves to creating a valid proof. In their free time, they’d navigate through a labyrinth of equations-riddling their rooms with tossed bunched up notebook papers full of solutions that didn’t work. That was until they both independently found their ultimate theory: The Waffle Cone.
The Waffle Cone proof-which name was coined by Johnson-impressed Professor Williams enough to bring it to the American Mathematical Society conference in Atlanta in March of 2023, where Johnson and Jackson presented their findings. The proof was also submitted to be peer reviewed.
The talented pair received international attention following their presentation, and their names are now once again in the limelight following their 60 Minutes CBS interview which was posted on Sunday, May 5. In the interview, Johnson and Jackson reflect on their journey and also the nuanced responses they got from people around the world. While many praised their work, including Michelle Obama herself, there were also a lot of bitter remarks from critics that couldn’t believe two high school students could prove this mathematical puzzle. Additionally the two had to deal with the intersectionalities of gender and race as young Black women who cracked the case.
Pamela Rogers, St. Mary’s president and interim principal, noted the racist “naysayers” that would attack Johnson and Jackson’s work during the 60 Minutes interview with host Bill Whitaker.
“They were saying, ‘Oh, they could not have done it. African Americans don’t have the brains to do it,’” she said. “Of course, we sheltered our girls from that. But we absolutely did not expect it to come in the volume that it came.”
While it is downright wrong for these young girls to experience such hate and envy for a groundbreaking achievement, Johnson and Jackson have an incredible institution behind them that has prepped so many Black women for success. St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans is an all-girls Black catholic school. The school is known for its strict and rigorous educational guidelines, which is perhaps why the school has produced countless intelligent, model females in society.
“People have a vision of who can be successful,” Rogers continued. “And, to some people, it is not always an African American female. And to us, it’s always an African American female.”
Whitaker went on to interview other students about the school, who expressed their appreciation for the strict rules and emphasized this great sense of sisterhood amongst their classmates. St. Mary’s Academy is dedicated to helping Black women of all backgrounds achieve whatever it is they desire-whether it’s seemingly impossible or not. With this training, it’s no wonder why Johnson and Jackson seemed so poised yet humble when discussing their historical proof.
While the two don’t consider themselves to be prodigal mathematicians, the pair are still working on additional proofs for the Pythagorean Theorem using trigonometry, and claim to have at least five more.
“And you’re not math geniuses?” Whitaker asked at the end of the interview. To which they both responded, “No.”
