Two thousand years ago the Roman scholar Marcus Varro proposed that hexagons are the most efficient way to divide a plane into equal areas. Varro noted that bees instinctively use this pattern in constructing honeycombs.
Known as the honeycomb conjecture, Varro’s hypothesis DEFIED or stubbornly resisted mathematical proof for over 2,000 years. Finally, in 1999 Thomas C. Hales offered mathematical proof confirming that regular hexagons are indeed the most efficient way to divide a plane into equal areas.
Don’t let the word DEFIED confuse you. While it can mean open resistance or refusal to obey, DEFIED can also mean resistance in the sense of making an action difficult or even impossible to achieve
DEFIED –making an action difficult or even impossible to achieve