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Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem - Simon Singh
Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem
by: (author)
4.00 95
xn + 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... show more
xn + 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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Format: paperback
ISBN: 9780385493628 (0385493622)
ASIN: 385493622
Publisher: Anchor
Pages no: 315
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
Brian's Book Blog
Brian's Book Blog rated it
4.0 Fermat's Last Theorem: The Story of a Riddle That Confounded the World's Greatest Minds for 358 Years
I bought this book after seeing the documentary that went with it.It tells how one person (Andrew Wiles) worked to prove a theorem that had stumped mathemeticians for over 3 centuries after reading about it when he was in primary school. Singh explains the ideas behind the eventual solution in a cle...
Cave Dweller
Cave Dweller rated it
"My butter, garcon, is writ large in!"a diner was heard to be chargin'."I HAD to write there,"exclaimed waiter Pierre,"I couldn't find room in the margarine."Ever since I recently stumbled upon the documentary called 'The Proof' I've become extremely interested (almost obsessed) in Wiles's proof of ...
simmo
simmo rated it
4.0 Fermat's Last Theorem: The story of a riddle that confounded the world's greatest minds for 358 years
Very Enjoyable. Even if I didn't understand the difference between an elliptical equation and modular forms!
Manny Rayner's book reviews
Manny Rayner's book reviews rated it
3.0
I guess the author does a reasonable job. But when I reached the end, I still didn't feel I understood at all how the proof worked. Probably that's just because it's so bloody hard. I got a lot more though out of Prime Obsession, Derbyshire's book on the Riemann Hypothesis, where the author opens up...
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