I didn't sign the Fields medallists' letter
A mathematician reflects on their early childhood attempts to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem and their discovery of patterns in difference sequences. The narrative explores the evolution of mathematical curiosity and the transition from empirical observation to formal education.
Why it matters
Provides insight into the cognitive development of mathematicians and the nature of mathematical discovery.
When I was around 11 I heard for the first time about Fermat’s Last Theorem. I was immediately captivated by the problem statement, as well as by the accompanying story, and made a fairly serious attempt to prove it. And while, unsurprisingly, I failed, I learned a lot from the attempt. Blissfully ignorant of the fact that the case had been proved by Euler over 200 years earlier, I decided that that would be a good place to start: once I had sorted that out, I was optimistic that I would be ready to tackle the general case.
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