Theorem. Consider the grid points, i.e. the points (x,y) with integer coordinates x and y, and let each grid point be painted with one of C distinct colours. For each X and Y, X distinct vertical grid lines and Y distinct horizontal grid lines exist such that their X.Y points of intersection have all the same colour.
Proof. Consider, for some k, the "strip" of points (x,y) with 0 ≤ x < k . In this strip the number of distinct possible colour patterns for a row is bounded (by Ck, to be precise). The number of rows in the strip being unbounded, at least one colour pattern occurs therefore in at least Y distinct rows. By choosing k larger than C.(X-1) we ensure that, in each and hence in this colour pattern, at least one colour occurs at least X times.
Acknowledgement. After having proved the theorem for X=Y=C=2 --that was the problem as originally posed-- my younger son, Rutger, removed during our discussion of the generalizations the last case analysis from the argument.
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23 November 1980 prof.dr. Edsger W. Dijkstra Burroughs Research Fellow |
Last revised on Mon, 30 Jun 2003.