𝗜 "𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱" 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲 😆

In the history of science, a phenomenon called "Multiple Discovery" occurs when different people independently reach the same breakthrough at nearly the same time. Famous examples include Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray, who both filed patents for the telephone on the exact same day; Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, who independently derived the theory of evolution; and Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, who both invented the microchip within months of each other. This shows that when the right building blocks are in place, great ideas often strike more than once.
𝐈𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 "𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲" 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
While a 9th-grade student at ODA Special Boarding School at the age of 16, I noticed our textbooks lacked a simple divisibility rule for 7. I spent my time deriving a solution:
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚: Multiply the units digit by 5 and add it to the remaining digits. If the result is divisible by 7, the original number is too.
In 2017, I presented this to the faculty at Ambo University (Ethiopia) , where they tested and certified its validity. At the time, I didn't stop there, I went on to develop divisibility tests for several other numbers and created a new method for calculating the values of trigonometric functions.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭: In 2019, the world celebrated Chika Ofili, a brilliant 12-year-old in the UK who went viral for "discovering" this exact same rule.
Seeing his story was a surreal experience. It reminded me that mathematical truths aren't "owned", they are universal laws waiting to be found. Whether in Ethiopia in 2016 or the UK in 2019, the logic remains the same.
Now, as a Master’s student in Computer Science, I realize these high school discoveries were my first foray into algorithmic optimization. It taught me that when you look past what is written in the textbook, you find the building blocks of efficient computation.
Discovery isn't just about being first to the microphone; it’s about the courage to find what’s missing.
I am still passionate about these early findings and would be happy to collaborate with anyone interested in exploring these mathematical rules or their computational applications further. Let’s connect!
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