Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problemxn + yn = zn, where n represents 3, 4, 5, ...no solution "I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain." With these words, the seventeenth-century French mathematician Pierre de Fermat threw down the gauntlet to future generations. What came to be known as Fermat's Last Theorem looked simple; proving it, however, became the Holy Grail of mathematics, baffling its finest minds for more than 350 years. In Fermat's Enigma--based on the author's award-winning documentary film, which aired on PBS's "Nova"--Simon Singh tells the astonishingly entertaining story of the pursuit of that grail, and the lives that were devoted to, sacrificed for, and saved by it. Here is a mesmerizing tale of heartbreak and mastery that will forever change your feelings about mathematics. |
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Page 135
... axioms of mathematics . One example of the axioms is the commutative law of addition , which simply states that , for any numbers m and n , m + n = n + m . This and the handful of other axioms are taken to be self - evident , and can ...
... axioms of mathematics . One example of the axioms is the commutative law of addition , which simply states that , for any numbers m and n , m + n = n + m . This and the handful of other axioms are taken to be self - evident , and can ...
Page 136
... axioms and gives an idea of how logicians set about building the rest of mathematics . A legion of logicians participated in the slow and painful process of rebuilding the immensely complex body of mathemati- cal knowledge using only a ...
... axioms and gives an idea of how logicians set about building the rest of mathematics . A legion of logicians participated in the slow and painful process of rebuilding the immensely complex body of mathemati- cal knowledge using only a ...
Page 297
... Axioms of Arithmetic The following axioms are all that are required as the foundation for the elaborate structure of arithmetic : 1. For any numbers m , n m + n = n + m and mn = nm . 2. For any numbers m , n , k , ( m + n ) + k = m + ...
... Axioms of Arithmetic The following axioms are all that are required as the foundation for the elaborate structure of arithmetic : 1. For any numbers m , n m + n = n + m and mn = nm . 2. For any numbers m , n , k , ( m + n ) + k = m + ...
Other editions - View all
Fermat's Enigma: Epic Quest To Solve The Worlds Greatest Mathematical Problem Simon Singh No preview available - 1998 |
Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical ... Simon Singh No preview available - 1997 |
Common terms and phrases
Andrew Wiles announced arithmetic Arithmetica axioms Barry Mazur began bers breakthrough calculation Cauchy century challenge complete concept cube Diophantus's discovered divisors domino E-mail E-series elliptic equation ematicians ematics Enigma Euclid Euler Évariste Galois Fermat's Last Theorem fraction Frey Frey's elliptic equation Galois Galois's Gauss German Gödel Goro Shimura Hilbert ideas imaginary numbers infinite number infinity irrational numbers John Coates Ken Ribet Kolyvagin-Flach method Kummer Lamé lecture logic manuscript math mathematicians Mazur modular form never Newton Institute number line number theory pair particular Pierre de Fermat prime numbers Princeton problem proof of Fermat's prove Fermat's Last prove the Taniyama-Shimura puzzle Pythagoras Pythagoras's theorem Pythagorean triples question realized referees result riddle right-angled triangle Sam Loyd seemed Shimura solve Sophie Germain square statement student symmetry Taniyama Taniyama-Shimura conjecture techniques theorists tiles tion true trying Turing undecidable University unscramble whole number solutions Wiles's proof Yutaka Taniyama