Why was proving Fermat’s Last Theorem such a big deal?
In: 2
1. Simple mathematical statements that are hard to solve are compelling in general, especially to mathematicians. It *feels* like simple statements should be easy to solve, so when we come across ones that aren’t, especially ones in which a solution feels obvious, they draw a lot of attention.
2. To add to the mystery is the fact that Fermat claimed to have a simple solution but it was never found and made #1 all the more frustrating.
3. The actual solution by Wiles was far from simple. It was rather complex delving into mathematical areas that no one would have every thought had anything to do with the problem or had anything to do with each other.
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