The Aperiodical 

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Apéryodical: Roger Apéry’s Mathematical Story

By Ben Sparks. Posted November 14, 2016

This is a guest post by mathematician and maths communicator Ben Sparks.

Roger Apéry: 14th November 1916 – 18th December 1994

100 years ago (on 14^th November) was born a Frenchman called Roger Apéry. He died in 1994, is buried in Paris, and upon his tombstone is the cryptic inscription:

$$1+\frac{1}{8}+\frac{1}{27}+\frac{1}{64}+\cdots \ne \frac{p}{q}$$



Apéry’s gravestone – Image from St. Andrews MacTutor Archive



Roger Apéry – Image from St. Andrews MacTutor Archive

The centenary of Roger Apéry’s birth is an appropriate time to unpack something of this mathematical story.