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Fun fact: In Star Trek the Next Generation, Picard mentions that Fermat's Last Theorem had gone unsolved for 800 years. 5 years after that episode came out, Wi
by chewxy 13y ago
Fun fact: In Star Trek the Next Generation, Picard mentions that Fermat's Last Theorem had gone unsolved for 800 years.
5 years after that episode came out, Wiles showed his proof.
- diminish 13y agoin Picard's parallel universe Wiles wasn't born.
- ColinWright 13y agoSee my answer elsewhere explaining why this is not true. Here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5932237 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5932237
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- ColinWright 13y agoSeason 2, Episode 12, "The Royale." This was subsequently tangentially referenced in an episode of "Deep Space Nine," which means "explanations" about Wiles never being born in the timelines are wrong. Quoting from Wikipedia: In "The Royale", an episode (first aired 27 March 1989) of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Picard states that the theorem had gone unsolved for 800 years. At the end of the episode Captain Picard says, "Like Fermat's theorem, it is a puzzle we may never solve." Wiles' proof was released five years after the particular episode aired. This was subsequently mentioned in a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode called "Facets" during June 1995 in which Jadzia Dax comments that one of her previous hosts, Tobin Dax, had "the most original approach to the proof since Wiles over 300 years ago." This reference was generally understood by fans to be a retroactive continuity for "The Royale".