- Paperback: 80 pages
- Publisher: St Martin's Press (1 Jan 1920)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312106572
- ISBN-13: 978-0312106577
- Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 13.9 x 0.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,198,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Review
"A delightful, informative, and accurate book about the probable proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. [This book is] highly recommended even to readers who think they hate math."--Martin Gardner
"Within a few minutes of the conclusion of his [Dr. Wiles's] final lecture, computer mail messages were winging around the world as mathematicians alerted each other to the startling and wholly unexpected result."--the "New York Times"
"Within a few minutes of the conclusion of his [Dr. Wiles's] final lecture, computer mail messages were winging around the world as mathematicians alerted each other to the startling and wholly unexpected result."--the "New York Times"
Product Description
June 23, 1993. A Princeton mathematician announces that he has unlocked, after thousands of unsuccessful attempts by others, the greatest mathematical riddle in the world. Dr. Wiles demonstrates to a group of stunned mathematicians that he has provided the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem (the equation x" + y" = z," where "n" is an integer greater than 2, has no solution in positive numbers), a problem that has confounded scholars for over 350 years.
Here in this brilliant new book, Marilyn vos Savant, the person with the highest recorded IQ in the world explains the mathematical underpinnings of Wiles's solution, discusses the history of Fermat's Last Theorem and other great math problems, and provides colorful stories of the great thinkers and amateurs who attempted to solve Fermat's puzzle.
Here in this brilliant new book, Marilyn vos Savant, the person with the highest recorded IQ in the world explains the mathematical underpinnings of Wiles's solution, discusses the history of Fermat's Last Theorem and other great math problems, and provides colorful stories of the great thinkers and amateurs who attempted to solve Fermat's puzzle.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Like many of us, there are some elements of mathematics that Ms. Vos Savant doesn't understand. Unfortunately, instead of investigating these subjects or asking questions of experts, the author concludes that there must be something wrong with the mathematics. Although this book purports to be about Wiles's proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, it is really a description of all the things that are "wrong" in mathematics, including some comments on Wiles's work. This can make for some entertaining reading, like her argument against the imaginary number i, but it can also be quite annoying, like her incredibly disrespectful comment (under the heading "a possible fatal flaw [in Wiles's proof]") that Wiles ought to check and make sure that his "proof" doesn't also rule out solutions to the equation with exponent 2, since we know that there are solutions in this case. A big plus for this book is the evidence it provides for the relative unimportance of I.Q.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book is just wrong. Read the proof for yourself, Annals of Mathematics 141, 3 (1995) and decide for yourself.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The argument presented in this book is incorrect. Wiles has proved Fermat's Last Theorem without any doubt. His second proof has been examined, scrutinized, and picked at probably more than any other proof in the last few decades and is completely accepted by the Mathematical community.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
How did this book ever get published?
Let me remind the potential buyer of this book the statement of Fermat's Last Theorem:
There do not exist positive integers a, b, c, and n such that a^n + b^n = c^n and... Read more
There do not exist positive integers a, b, c, and n such that a^n + b^n = c^n and... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Jack
Confusing reviews
I have not actually read this book but am confused by the reviews. Wiles first announced his proof of FLT in June 1993. Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2000
Waist [sic] of time? review on May 21, 1999
Before one expounds on the ineptness of the book in question, perhaps one should check their English to find the the correct word to have used was Waste. Read more
Published on 20 Aug 1999
Astonishingly inaccurate and arrogant
I wish Amazon.com would give us the option of zero stars. This pamphlet demonstrates no understanding of the history or mathematics underpinning the proof of FLT. Read more
Published on 13 July 1999
Drivel by someone who doesn't know what she's talking about
The main lesson to be learned from this book is that there is no correlation between IQ and personal character. Read more
Published on 4 July 1999
Marilyn was right, if only for "the wrong reasons".
It is as naive to completely dismiss standard IQ as it is to equate a high IQ with intellectual perfection. Even the most current and politically-correct of theories (i.e. Read more
Published on 24 Jun 1999
Waist of time and money
The author, whom I understand is considered smart, don't know the first thing about the number theory. Read more
Published on 21 May 1999
Incorrect.
Mailyn vos Savant is trying to explain math that she does not understand. Don't even bother, the book is a piece of trash. The reason for it is it is just plain WRONG. Read more
Published on 22 April 1999
Don't Bother
A book written in 3 weeks (the author readily admits this in the Acknowledgments Section) attempts to explain a proof that was seven years in the making and to provide historical... Read more
Published on 12 April 1999
Questions about the T.V. serious on same subject
Around August 1998 I saw a program on TV about Wiles and The Proof. If anyone has any information on where I can find this program and buy a tape please forward that to me. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 1999
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