Bjoern, if you want to be a genius solve one of these. (Or go with these instead.)

Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) Switzerland

Euler made decisive contributions in all areas of mathematics. He gave the world modern trigonometry. Just as Archimedes extended Euclid's geometry to marvelous heights, so Euler took marvelous advantage of the analysis of Newton and Leibniz. He probably discovered the calculus of variations first, but modestly let Lagrange take the credit. He is universally regarded as the most prolific mathematician in history and the best algorist. His colleagues called him ``Analysis Incarnate.'' He was supreme at discrete mathematics, as well as continuous: He invented graph theory and generating functions.

Euler combined his brilliance with phenomenal concentration. He developed the first method to estimate the Moon's orbit (the ``three-body problem'' which had stumped Newton), and he settled an arithmetic dispute involving 50 decimal places of a long convergent series. Both these feats were accomplished when he was totally blind.

As a young man, Euler discovered and proved the following:
pi2/6 = 1 + 1/4 + 1/9 + 1/16 + 1/25 + ...
This striking identity catapulted Euler to instant fame, since the right-side infinite sum was a famous unsolved problem of the day.