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Fermat's Last Theorem (Paperback, New edition) Loot Price: R284
Discovery Miles 2 840
You Save: R78 (22%)

Fermat's Last Theorem (Paperback, New edition)

Simon Singh

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List price R362 Loot Price R284 Discovery Miles 2 840 You Save R78 (22%)

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This tells a fascinating tale spanning more than 350 years of investigation into the greatest riddle in mathematics. Whether Fermat himself ever did have a proof of his famous last theorem we will never know; but the saga of the many attempts to find a proof, and the ultimate success of Andrew Wiles in the 1990s, makes absorbing reading. In 1993, Wiles, a Cambridge mathematician, electrified the world of mathematics - and appeared in the news worldwide - when he announced he had solved the eponymous theorem. To do this he had worked alone for seven years; when his proof was found to have a flaw, he had to devote another year to it. Singh's book is respectful of the maths, but also offers a colourful history of the theorem and the personalities of the mathematicians involved in it. (Kirkus UK)

In 1963 a schoolboy browsing in his local library stumbled across the world's greatest mathematical problem: Fermat's Last Theorem, a puzzle that every child can understand but which has baffled mathematicians for over 300 years. Aged just ten, Andrew Wiles dreamed that he would crack it. Wiles's lifelong obsession with a seemingly simple challenge set by a long-dead Frenchman is an emotional tale of sacrifice and extraordinary determination. In the end, Wiles was forced to work in secrecy and isolation for seven years, harnessing all the power of modern maths to achieve his childhood dream. Many before him had tried and failed, including a 18-century philanderer who was killed in a duel. An 18-century Frenchwoman made a major breakthrough in solving the riddle, but she had to attend maths lectures at the Ecole Polytechnique disguised as a man since women were forbidden entry to the school. A remarkable story of human endeavour and intellectual brilliance over three centuries, Fermat's Last Theorem will fascinate both specialist and general readers.

General

Imprint: Fourth Estate
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Release date: June 2002
Authors: Simon Singh
Dimensions: 199 x 130 x 22mm (L x W x T)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 340
Edition: New edition
ISBN-13: 978-1-84115-791-7
Categories: Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > History of science
Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Popular science
Books > Science & Mathematics > Mathematics > Number theory > General
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LSN: 1-84115-791-0
Barcode: 9781841157917

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