The Man Who Solved the World’s Most Famous Math Problem

Newsthink is produced and presented by Cindy Pom

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John & Becki Johnston
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Sources:
Andrew Wiles at Isaac Newton Institute proving Fermat’s Theorem: Image purchased from Science Photo Library

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[Pioneer_DE]

Imagine being a suicidal Industrialist but being motivated to live by a maths problem.

[DynestiGTI]

The amount of knowledge you need to even understand the proof is insane

[MichaelPiz]

I don't think Andrew's proof would fit in the margin.

[kwith]

I've watched that original documentary and its amazing how emotional Andrew gets. You can see the passion for the problem in how he barely is able to get out the words "Nothing I ever do again will...." as he almost bursts into tears. I would say 99% of people would just say "umm..its just a math problem!". To him though, this represented the culmination of an entire lifetime of dedication that has finally been realized.

A quote given by Simon Singh from what Piet Hein said: "Problems worthy of attack prove their worth by fighting back". That is this entire journey in a nutshell.

[Tmileman]

I think Andrew is the right guy to tackle the mystery of the frequent disappearance of socks from my dryer.

[ozymandias]

Everytime I listen to Wiles's work on Fermat's last theorem I get incredibly amazed by his passion and determination to complete the dream of his life. Truly a remarkable person

[lanzer]

And here I am trying to solve the mystery of why my steak is always overcooked.

[vibehighest]

sucks that in the world we live in today people are hesitant to share their ideas due to it being stolen etc. Imagine how much further we could progress in science if it were the opposite

[AzfarAbdulHamid]

Having the motivation to solve an unsolved problem at the age of 10 is just mind boggling

[londomolari]

Sadly, because of its age restriction, Andrew could not win a FIelds Medal, but they did give him a special award.

[domnanzwandor]

Never underestimate the determination of a 10 year old.

[MrBeen]

129 pages ? I did a shorter proof but youtube says its too long a comment. Your loss...

[Jazzwr]

I felt that!.. when he broke into tears 💪

[frankteunissen]

The reason that Wiles kept his work on Fermat’s Last Theorem secret wasn’t that he feared others might steal his thunder. The reason was that by the mid-20th century trying to prove the theorem was something that drew in cranks and crackpots. No serious mathematician worked on Fermat’s theorem if he valued his reputation in the world of mathematicians.

[Broken_robot]

We promised each other that no matter where we went, we would never be separated. He broke his promise.

[Hansulf]

That obsession of some men to put a stone on the foundation of human civilization is what drives us all towards a brighter future! All my admiration towards him!

[willfranklyn]

Ain’t no way Fermat actually solved that 350 years ago. He probably thought he did but dang this dude did a lot of work.

[KeithTax]

The real question is, did Fermat actually have a "marvelous proof" to the equation, as indicated in the margin?

[Dr_LK]

Dear Ms Pom, thank you again for a fantastic exposition of a truly inspiring story. All your videos are amazing. I remember that I was doing my PhD at the time, watched the documentary on British tv, and read the book by Simon Singh.