6/2/2023 0 Comments Fermat's Enigma by Simon SinghPythagoras gained his mathematical skills on his travels throughout the ancient world.The last theorem has its origins in the mathematics of ancient Greece, it links the foundations of mathematics created by Pythagoras.This simple statement remained unsolved for more than 300 years and this book is a great overview of how one of the finest puzzles of modern history was solved. The theorem is quite easy to understand, young Andrew Wiles the man who later would find a solution stumbled upon the theorem as a child, it states that: no pair of numbers raised to a power higher than two can add up to a third number raised to the same power. Through the years much exceptional mathematics made their contributions towards a solution, but nothing definitive was proposed as the solution to this intriguing puzzle. The book starts way before Fermat’s birth in ancient Greece, some may say that’s a big digression from the main subject, but still marvelously connected with how Fermat was able to study mathematics and how was his thinking when solving mathematical problems. Simon manages to make a book about a mathematical theorem approachable by anyone with English knowledge. If you like mathematics and a good story you will love this book. If I had to give it a grade it would be near-optimal to leave some space for the unknown. A travel through the story of mathematics.
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