Erdős Problem #422
No proof or disproof is known, and it isn't known whether a finite computation could settle it.
What the community database records, not our verdict. erdosproblems.com no longer shows statuses (why).
`IsHofstadterQ f` means that \(f\) is Hofstadter's \(Q\)-sequence (OEIS A005185): \(f(1) = f(2) = 1\) and for \(n > 2\) \[ f(n) = f(n - f(n - 1)) + f(n - f(n - 2)), \] where the recurrence requires \(f(n - 1) < n\) and \(f(n - 2) < n\), so that both arguments on the right-hand side are positive integers. The sequence begins \(1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, \ldots\). At most one function satisfies this predicate. Some function satisfies it if and only if \(f(n)\) is well-defined for all \(n\), which is not known.
Attempts
submit one →Read our working report →
Live-page status is OPEN with 0 claimed proofs, but Rafikzeraoulia2025 is listed as “Currently working on this problem”; stopped before mathematical work to avoid colliding with a current worker.
SKIPPED