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The Valenzetti Equation is a fictional book written by Gary Troup, as part of The Lost Experience. The book describes the reclusive mathematician Enzo Valenzetti and his famous theorem, The Valenzetti Equation.

Gary Troup briefly discussed the book in part three, four and five of his interview with Laird Granger.

The official Valenzetti Equation Book website was launched in July 2006, providing a home for some in-game clues as well as information on Enzo Valenzetti. The site has since been shut down.

Publisher's summary[]

Valenzetti book

Publishers Summary

What if a mathematical equation could predict the apocalypse? Using recently-declassified material and hundreds of hours of interviews with former employees of the United Nations and prominent members of the defense and academic establishment, best-selling author Gary Troup turns his finely honed sense of mystery toward one of the most vexing mathematical riddles of our time.

Controversy[]

The book is listed by its publisher Hyperion Publishing as being "Out of Print". According to the author, Alvar Hanso of the Hanso Foundation, has bought up all available copies and purchased all exclusive rights to reprint the book. It is presumed by the author that Alvar Hanso wanted to prevent the equation's disclosure as the theorem is one of the most closely guarded corporate secrets within the Hanso Foundation.

Website[]

Valenzetti homepage

The website homepage before it was shutdown.

In July 2006, the website valenzettiequation.com was launched, advertising the book. Initially, the site reiterated information that had been posted on Wikipedia by the writers behind the Lost Experience (which was subsequently removed by Wikipedia due to being fiction). However, the site also contained a little more information about Enzo Valenzetti and the Valenzetti Equation, as well as housing glyphs during the Hansoexposed.com stage of the Lost Experience.

Valenzetti Equation[]

Valenztti equation1

Valenzetti Equation.

Though shrouded in mystery, this much is known about the Valenzetti Equation: it is a mathematical calculation designed to predict nothing less than the exact number of years left before the extinction of the human race. Although little is known about the circumstances leading to the creation of the equation, mystery novelist Gary Troup put forward an interesting theory in his sole non-fiction book "The Valenzetti Equation" (a fair-to-middling tome which owes as much to popular conspiracy fiction as it does to higher mathematics).

According to Troup - whose research is primarily based on interviews with "UN members" willing to break their non-disclosure agreements, and recently declassified Soviet files - the equation was the end result of a study commissioned by the United Nations following the Cuban Missile Crisis. With their respective nations having just faced the very precipice of mutually-assured destruction, the United States and Soviet Union - under the auspices of the Security Council - secretly sought Valenzetti out as a disinterested third party and charged him with the creation of an infallible mathematical algorithm for the prediction of Armageddon.

Less than a year later, Valenzetti returned with his eponymous equation - which, reportedly, is not unlike the Drake Equation (sometimes mistakenly referred to as the "Sagan Equation"), but far greater in complexity. Because of the conditions of secrecy under which Valenzetti produced his work, the totality of the equation has never been brought to light, nor has his final tally for the number of years left before the human race extinguishes itself with nuclear fire. Compounding the mystery is Valenzetti's steadfast refusal to discuss his work (he is best known for allegedly torching his proof of Fermat's last theorem after it was verified by a group of colleagues). Valenzetti’s mysterious death and Gary Troup's disappearance (and presumed death) on Oceanic Airlines flight 815, which was lost over the pacific on September 2004.

Enzo Valenzetti[]

Valenzetti man

Valenzetti Man.

Very little is known about Enzo Valenzetti, save that he was born in the island of Sardinia sometime in the late 1920's. Identified as a math prodigy from an early age, Valenzetti attended the prestigious Fibonacci State Institute of Advanced Sciences early in life - achieving the equivalent of a full doctorate before the age of sixteen - but his strident desire for privacy, compounded by a gag order placed on his personal information by the Italian government - reportedly in exchange for his services - has thwarted even the most intense of inquiries into his career and movements, and Valenzetti’s death silenced many who sought to tell his story. Similarly, Valenzetti has never published his research - but his reputation is legendary among mathematicians and scientists alike.

As a young man, Valenzetti reportedly spent a significant amount of time in the company of such luminaries as Kurt Godel, Albert Einstein, and John Forbes Nash, but, as no record exists of his having had a tenure at any major academic institution, it is difficult to establish his exact contributions to the field. Most controversial among those who follow advanced mathematics is the contention, made by several prominent figures in the early sixties, that Valenzetti was first to devise a proof of Fermat's last theorem - a proof verified by several colleagues - only to throw the completed work in the fire so that - according to his former assistant - "other could have as much fun as he did in solving it."

Valenzetti's most legendary contribution is said to be his eponymous equation. Anecdotal reports indicate that Valenzetti, at the request of the United Nations, devised a complicated algorithm capable of predicting the exact date of the extinction of the human race. As with so many things relating to Valenzetti, the actual equation has never been seen. The result of Valenzetti's equation remains unknown and is the subject of much speculation. Sadly the answers to many of the mysteries of Valenzetti’s life vanished with him after his single-engine plane crashed during a trans-European flight.

Glyphs[]

Valenzetti glyph

Valenzetti Glyph

Two glyphs were found on the website, which revealed video fragments on the Hanso Exposed website. The first was found on August 11th, hidden in the flash introduction on the site. The second was discovered on August 22nd, also in the introduction animation.

Trivia[]

The cover can be seen on a section on the Lost Connections feature. It can be found on the end of the appearances of the number 8.

External links[]

The Valenzetti Equation by Gary Troup - Official Book Site
The Valenzetti Equation at Gary Troup's site

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