I don't believe Fermat had a proof. I think he fooled himself into thinking he had a proof. Andrew Wiles fermatfoolproof Change image and share on social
I hope that seeing the excitement of solving this problem will make young mathematicians realize that there are lots and lots of other problems in mathematics which are going to be just as challenging in the future. Andrew Wiles challengeexcitementfuture share on social
Mathematicians aren't satisfied because they know there are no solutions up to four million or four billion, they really want to know that there are no solutions up to infinity. Andrew Wiles billioninfinitymathematician Change image and share on social
Perhaps the methods I needed to complete the proof would not be invented for a hundred years. So even if I was on the right track, I could be living in the wrong century. Andrew Wiles centurycompletehundred Change image and share on social
Well, some mathematics problems look simple, and you try them for a year or so, and then you try them for a hundred years, and it turns out that they're extremely hard to solve. Andrew Wiles extremelyhardhundred Change image and share on social
Then when I reached college I realized that many people had thought about the problem during the 18th and 19th centuries and so I studied those methods. Andrew Wiles 18th19thcentury Change image and share on social
I grew up in Cambridge in England, and my love of mathematics dates from those early childhood days. Andrew Wiles cambridgechildhooddate Change image and share on social
I really believed that I was on the right track, but that did not mean that I would necessarily reach my goal. Andrew Wiles believegoalnecessarily Change image and share on social
I was so obsessed by this problem that I was thinking about it all the time - when I woke up in the morning, when I went to sleep at night - and that went on for eight years. Andrew Wiles morningnightobsess Change image and share on social
The only way I could relax was when I was with my children. Andrew Wiles childrelax Change image and share on social
