u/Aracuria

Could Professor Moriarty have offered a solution to the Three-Body Problem in his book? Or does Holmes care so little for space that he embellishes the genius of his enemy?

Though all we know is that it’s ‘pure mathematics’ is almost incomprehensible, could we be right to assume it dealt with one of the most difficult astronomical issues at the time…
What is interesting is that King Oscar II of Sweden had challenged mathematicians to solve the question, and the French mathematician Henri Poincaré almost won the Prize in 1887 - but ignominiously, for he had a slight error that was later corrected. This occurred the year before Conan Doyle set the story The Valley of Feat in which we find this reference.

So, is Moriarty an evil Poincaré, a genius beyond comparison who solved an impossible mathematical puzzle? Or do we just assume his book is deep, but not THAT deep? What is frustrating is we know Holmes has a complete lack of knowledge and interest in many topics that aren’t relevant to crime-fighting, so could his own disdain and ignorance be elevating Moriarty to a higher status than he deserves? I kind of like the idea that they are both incredible geniuses in their own field, but almost completely alone in their own mental palace with no-one to engage with on the same level of excellence….