3 ms·
Yes, I remember when news of his proof broke, being disappointed at how voluminous and obscure (to someone like me) it was. I'd been hoping for something I migh
by barking 7y ago
Yes, I remember when news of his proof broke, being disappointed at how voluminous and obscure (to someone like me) it was.
I'd been hoping for something I might be able to get my head around.
(Hard as it was, I don't think Wiles spent 385 years coming up with it btw!)
- nurettin 7y agoWhether there is an existing and verified proof or not, there is still a great mystery to be solved by figuring out what Fermat actually meant by what he thought as an elegant solution, whether it is an actual solution or not.
- EGreg 7y agoWell, it could have been like Kempe's chains... they finally realized there is a problem, and then it took like 100 years before Appel and Haken made what is probably the first computer-aided proof. And who can say it's really a "proof" if it doesn't explain "why" it's true.
- Sharlin 7y agoPhrased in a way that doesn't imply Wiles's extreme longevity: it took 385 years of advances in mathematics to invent the tools and frameworks that allowed Wiles to come up with the proof.