Proof of the truth or falsity of the Collatz conjecture

This paper proves the Collatz conjecture using the opposite method to the method of tracing 1 from any integer. The method is a way to verify whether it is possible to reach all positive integers starting from 1, following the opposite rule of the Collatz conjecture.If it is possible to reach all positive integers starting from 1, then the Collatz conjecture can be proven true.In this paper, for a positive integer n, if n is even, n/2 is performed, and if n is odd, 3n+1 is performed, and the method of repeating this is called the conventional Collatz method. For a positive odd number p1, double it, double it, … repeatedly, and if a positive even number q that appears in the process becomes a positive odd number p2 when (q-1)/3 is calculated, perform that, and the method of repeating this is called the reverse Collatz method.This paper visualizes the structure of the Collatz conjecture by creating a tree diagram using the reverse Collatz method.Furthermore, a odd-odd table and a odd-even table are used to analyze the relationships between all positive integers within the tree diagram of the reverse Collatz method.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-09-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21040951
Primary Topic
Benford’s Law and Fraud Detection
Type
preprint
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preprint

Proof of the truth or falsity of the Collatz conjecture

弘貴 齋藤
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Benford’s Law and Fraud Detection
preprint

Proof of the truth or falsity of the Collatz conjecture

弘貴 齋藤
preprint en

Abstract

This paper proves the Collatz conjecture using the opposite method to the method of tracing 1 from any integer. The method is a way to verify whether it is possible to reach all positive integers starting from 1, following the opposite rule of the Collatz conjecture.If it is possible to reach all positive integers starting from 1, then the Collatz conjecture can be proven true.In this paper, for a positive integer n, if n is even, n/2 is performed, and if n is odd, 3n+1 is performed, and the method of repeating this is called the conventional Collatz method. For a positive odd number p1, double it, double it, … repeatedly, and if a positive even number q that appears in the process becomes a positive odd number p2 when (q-1)/3 is calculated, perform that, and the method of repeating this is called the reverse Collatz method.This paper visualizes the structure of the Collatz conjecture by creating a tree diagram using the reverse Collatz method.Furthermore, a odd-odd table and a odd-even table are used to analyze the relationships between all positive integers within the tree diagram of the reverse Collatz method.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Benford’s Law and Fraud Detection
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