Fermat's Last Theorem (1996) Part 5 of 5

[ryuichirapha]

amazing... thanks for the upload

[H4NN1B4LCL]

I think his wife is hot

[h0wud0in2]

@fireking9934 Demetrios christodoulou

ha won the shaw prize recently (he did the most important work after 40 so he didnt get the fields metal which has age restrictions). hes now at the ethz

why u ask? Are you in physics or math or any science or just curious?

[sjsawyer]

"It's not every day you hear the proof of the century"

I guess not.. otherwise it wouldn't be the proof of the century ;)

[SimonDolan]

I`m no Mathematician, and yet I found this compelling and fascinating. Thans for posting.

[BifSlamkovich]

All these smart people...if only I could allow the floodgates to just open...and to let the concepts flow as freely to my brain as it did to theirs, by all means, life would be grand.

[h0wud0in2]

@BifSlamkovich tahts a big mistake. wiles is not that special. no one should think that they cant do what he did. Let me tell you what the normal person cant do: couple of days ago I was talking to s proffesor, close friend of wiles who was done with quantum mechanics by 14 and was accepted to priunceton as a phd student a year later. By 20 he had done more progress in general relativity than all others from the start of the century combined

[kiy1999]

@h0wud0in2 I'd have to agree with you. Its the age old saying that the more you work on something the easier it is for you to understand it. In another few decades I think mathematicians will have found a much simpler way to describe Fermat's Last Theorem. With any luck, our grand-great-grand-children will learn this stuff in middle school. The only reason other weren't as successful is because they didn't dedicate as much time. 7 years seems like a lot. Most would not want to lose their family

[Tranquilance]

@kiy1999 There is no way this will ever be taught in middle school.

[kiy1999]

@Tranquilance It's still nice to dream. Hopefully, we'll only move forward with math and other academics.

[lenks0]

@kiy1999 Didn't dedicate as much time? 7 years is nothing. This was a 300 year old problem. That he solved it had a lot to do with hard work, but also luck to be born when he was and enough genius to see it though.

[rajithaify]

so inspirational, although i didn't understand half what they said. mathematics is so awesome

[thefourthway]

Sometimes a brilliant man shows a light for us.

[jacderida]

watched the whole documentary - it's incredible and very inspirational. I work as a software engineer and so I experience little moments of "wow, now I really understand how this works" and so I know how satisfying that is. But, I can only imagine what it must have been like to be able to have the kind of insight that Andrew described @ 2:30.

I don't care if it doesn't have any applications in the 'real world', the abstract universe of maths is amazing!

[fnmihai]

@jacderida

Hi,

I have the same feelings about "wow, now I really understand how this works" .

It is just me or our learning path in so wrong...

Why at the age of 35 or more we REALY understand the basic stuff a child learns in elementary school

[MyOverflow]

As an undergraduate math student, I only vaguely understand some of the things they're talking about. Even then, it's only the small bits of information I've read about and it is largely intuition rather than rigorous mathematics.

The things that go on in the world of mathematics are so amazing. Here I am trying to tackle simple analysis and algebra, and there are people like Wiles alive, today, that can bring theorems like this to life.

[SimonOxfPhys]

Does anyone know what the piece is that starts around 4:45?

[Cavanmore69]

I first saw this on TV many years ago and was so pleased to stumble across it on your channel. Many thanks. I have not the faintest idea about the mathematics involved, but Andrew's comment about the privilege of exploring a childhood dream in one's adult life is truly inspitarional. You can just see the joy in his face. He seems like a real gent. For some reason, I've never forgotten this documentary and I'm thrilled that you've made it available for others. Thank you.

[whaaaaateverful]

What a beautiful man.

[alkhan]

Wow!... at first Walis reminded me Bill Gates, lol...

[herdondoozer]

Something very hypnotic about this documentary in particular the people being interviewed all have this characteristic about their way of speaking that I could watch them for hours.

[myrtlebox]

@herdondoozer Yup - I've watched this entire thing 20 times. Sometimes, I just surf while listening to it without watching; although the visual is equally well done. I personally thanked Simon Singh for this jewel.

[herdondoozer]

Something very hypnotic about this documentary in particular the people being interviewed all have this characteristic about their way of speaking that I could watch them for hours. 

[CthulhuMessiah]

Who was the fake mathematician with the two books open? He's a faggot. Yeah, you are smart, shittard.

[sukrikcm]

Good lord that man has a large head. And I'm pretty sure it's full of brains!

[TheSonjaxfactor]

@sukrikcm lol

[peperonyandchease]

So how has this affected the lives of the average human?

[taviona]

@peperonyandchease Probably not much, but what does it matter?

[peperonyandchease]

@taviona Just wondering if maybe something I use everyday is because of this.

[GRIJZEKAK]

@peperonyandchease : well you can use math to study the physical nature. But it usually takes a while for someone to find how. same thing could be said for quantum mechanics, people said how is this useful, it allowed us to build computers! math and physics usually take a lot of time to find useful practical applications. math and physics invent the laws, engineers construct the technology on the basis of those laws.

[Hartmutundich]

Just imagine politics would be practiced in the same way as mathematics. Taking the time to work out a problem for seven years, finding a proof, let the proof being checked by colleagues without wrong pride, reworking it and then - ones proven - it's true for eternity and cannot be cancelled by the next government. What a wonderful world that would be...

[KurayamiShikaku]

@Hartmutundich I feel like we would be plagued by our own inaction if that were the case. Theoretically it sounds brilliant, but practically I see it failing.

[myrtlebox]

@Hartmutundich Agreed. But it is just a fact that Andrew Wiles and other great minds pursue Math/Physics to seek truth and understanding. Politicians, ironically, choose the opposite paths because they are motivated by power and ego. It's an incredibly sad world for thoughtful people, but this has always been the case. Imagine the imprisonment of Galileo by the catholic church for the blasphemous idea that the Earth is not the center of the Universe - sigh.

[pellevinken]

@Hartmutundich The difficulty with politics is that we often have different fundaments ("axioms"), as they don't in mathematics.

[myrtlebox]

@Hartmutundich You have touched on the true problem with politics and politicians.

1. The greatest minds on the planet solve difficult problems typically without ego or desire of power

2. Politics appeals ONLY to those driven by ego and power without regard to solving problems

Fortunatley, the problem solvers gravitate to what is important and impact our lives greatly. Politicians gravitate to self-serving agendas with exceedingly little have long term positive impact on our lives.

[DiabloMercy]

@myrtlebox politics is ONLY about power and money. Of which neither concerns math. They are different dichotomies....

[fermatxxi]

The polynomial solution is very easy to explain and easy to understand.

After its presentation, I have no doubt that it will be identified in the papers that Fermat left.

[SORATAK55]

Shimura-sensei is so cool!

[Iammrspickley]

@PaulMJohnson exactly what i was feeling...

[LemJpn]

Could someone tell me the name of the music that starts at 6:13?

[riowester]

Eureka hahahahaah XD

[LovelyYTRocks]

... So what is it?

[souldude81]

I watched this video at least three or four times and now I finally understand the proof and it is brilliant!

[dmanc1]

@souldude81 Me too!

[PaulMJohnson]

Thank you for posting this. I don't have the mathematical skills to be able to even pretend to understand what they're talking about (beyond understanding what Fermat's Last Theorem is), but there is something compelling about watching people so clever be so excited about something that is so beyond me. It's inspirational in a way.

[jimmyti9cer]

@PaulMJohnson I second that!

[newleezerbrand]

@PaulMJohnson vouldnt have said it better

[libraryquiet]

@PaulMJohnson  I thought I was the only one who felt that way.

[coooldude777]

@PaulMJohnson

if you don't have the skill then don't comment on the video, dumbass

[Hemsom1rojder]

@PaulMJohnson

I have failed almost all math in my school years...Then I ask myself: "Why do I find math so very interresting when I have failed all these courses?" Well my belief is that the abstract universe of mathemathics and its perfection stimulates some part of the human brain and it makes me feel like im "in touch with pure holiness". The essence of our being.... How come I had such a hard time with math in school?

[Pettenderk]

Thanks for the post! I saw the documentary years ago on television, beautiful in every way.... great to see it again!

[plica06]

There is a book by Simon Singh that accompanies this documentary. It fleshes the story out and was a good read.

[CarnalDiafragma]

Really awesome, thank you!

[richyblack]

Thanks!

[wayztan]

Thank you for this!!!

[wayztan]

Thank you for this!!!

[twistedneck]

The book is really good too. What does a modular form really look like?

[potatoesPlusPlus]

I love this documentry.

[MMMisterDNA]

Wow!

I looked at all five parts, that was great, thanks !