Not all dreams are childish!!

A 10-year-old boy told himself that one day he is going to prove Fermat's last theorem. And 53 years
later, he had the same smile as he wished for it at the age of 10, while receiving the Abel prize for
proving Fermat's last theorem. This is about the famous Mathematician Andrew Wiles who solved a
problem of 3 centuries old.

Fermat's last theorem by Simon Singh is one of the finest books for Maths lovers. And as the name
suggests, it tells us the story of a riddle which is known as the Fermat's Last Theorem and how it
affected the life of Mathematicians. The simple words of Simon reduced the complexity of the
subject, the book had discussed.

It will not be appropriate to write further before talking about this riddle. It is proposed by the famous
French mathematician Pierre de Fermat. The students all over the world are compelled to study
Pythagoras theorem, which tells that when we consider a right-angled triangle, the sum of the squares
of the base and altitude equals the square of the hypotenuse, 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 𝑧 2 . This equation has a large
number of whole number solutions. Fermat extended this concept further. If we replace 2 with n, then
the equation will be in the form

𝑥𝑛 + 𝑦𝑛 = 𝑧𝑛

and it does not have whole number solutions for n>2.The riddle is very simple, even a school student
can understand this. But there was not any proof.

Even though the book describes the various works of mathematicians all around the world to solve the
problem, I am more interested to talk about Wiles. He got to know about riddle from the book The
Last Problem by E.T.Bell. He was fascinated by it and determined to solve it. This happened in a
library in Cambridge. How many 10-year-old students in our state have the habit of going to the
library? How many students have the liberty to read books other than academic ones? Our system
focuses on mugging up theorems and proofs and reproducing it on answer sheets. I firmly believe, this
is not the actual education. The students who are the building blocks of the future should have the
freedom to choose and explore what they like. If they didn't find any, they have to create it. If
Andrew's parents tried to make him a doctor or engineer, then that would have been an end to the
journey of a brilliant mathematician.

Wiles's enthusiasm and dedication are evident from the hard work he put on while solving the
problem. 7 years of isolated study is not a simple thing in Mathematics research. Being a graduate
student, I know how peer discussions, conferences and seminars are important in expanding your
research. Wiles was strong enough to dedicate years to fulfill his childhood dream. This would be a
shock to our generation students as they simply commit suicide for silly things. Failure is not an end
of your life. Imagine, how many times Wiles would have tried and failed during his 7 years of study.
Did he move away from his ambition? No. He patiently waited for the result. This was eye-opening
for me. To make me, courage enough to face the troubles and difficulties while following my dream.

Throughout the book, Simon had explained, how Wiles had continuously made discussions about the
riddle with his teachers. This part is also very important. Don't be an introvert when it comes to
studies. Talk with your teachers. Share your ideas with your peer groups. The suggestions coming
from the discussions will help you make decisions and move further.
I conclude this by thanking Simon Singh for this brilliant piece of work. It made me realize how
important are my dreams and how much hard work, I should have to put on for fulfilling it. And I
decided, no matter whatever be the situation, I don't give up on my dreams.

Meera V

Palakkad