Anonymous 4chan User Cracks a Math Problem: The Shortest Superpermutation

In 2011, an anonymous 4chan user, while discussing *The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya*, posed a mathematical puzzle concerning the shortest superpermutation. This problem, similar to the traveling salesman problem, remains unsolved. However, this user proposed a previously unknown method to estimate the minimum number of episodes needed to view all possible orderings, with the formula n!+(n-1)!+(n-2)!+n-3. Years later, mathematicians discovered and verified this result on an anime fan page, publishing it in the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences under the authorship "Anonymous 4chan Poster." This event highlights the unexpected potential of online communities and the surprising contributions of non-professionals to the field of mathematics.