Fermat's Last Theorem: Difference between revisions

Line 3:

{{quote| ''Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et generaliter nullam in infinitum ultra quadratum potestatem in duos eiusdem nominis fas est dividere cuius rei demonstrationem mirabilem sane detexi. Hanc marginis exiguitas non caperet.''}}

{{quote|("It is impossible for a cube to be the sum of two cubes, a fourth power to be the sum of two fourth powers, or in general for any number that is a power greater than the second to be the sum of two like powers. I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain.")<ref>In [[~~Laymans~~ Terms]], take this equation: x^n plus y^n equals z^n. The Last Theorm dictactes that if n is a number above 2, you can't use whole numbers (2, 3, 4, etc.) for the x, y and z.</ref>|'''Pierre de Fermat'''}}

{{quote|("It is impossible for a cube to be the sum of two cubes, a fourth power to be the sum of two fourth powers, or in general for any number that is a power greater than the second to be the sum of two like powers. I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain.")<ref>In [[Layman's Terms]], take this equation: x^n plus y^n equals z^n. The Last Theorm dictactes that if n is a number above 2, you can't use whole numbers (2, 3, 4, etc.) for the x, y and z.</ref>|'''Pierre de Fermat'''}}

Fermat, a prominent 17th-century amateur mathematician, wrote the above note in his copy of a number theory textbook. By the time he died, the textbook was full of such teasing notes; his son published a new annotated edition of the book containing all of these notes in their proper places.

Line 23:

** In ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine (TV)|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'', Jadzia says that one of Dax's earlier hosts had the most original approach to Fermat's last theorem since Wiles. This may be an attempted [[Hand Wave]] for the TNG example, by showing that people are still working on the problem in the ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' universe even though it's been solved.

* In the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' episode ''[[Doctor Who (TV)/Recap/S31 E01 The Eleventh Hour|The Eleventh Hour]]'', the Doctor uses Fermat's original proof of Fermat's last theorem<ref>(along with an explanation of why electrons have mass and a description of an FTL drive)</ref> to get a team of scientists to take him seriously after hacking into their videoconference.

* [[Arthur C Clarke]]'s ''The Last Theorem'' is about a Sri Lanka mathematician trying to find a simpler proof to the problem.

* [[Arthur C. Clarke (Creator)]]'s ''The Last Theorem'' is about a Sri Lanka mathematician trying to find a simpler proof to the problem.

* The Irish band BATS have a song about Andrew Wiles and the theorem.

* ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]'' posits that Fermat was a [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1807.html time traveler].