Biography of a Mathematician

MTH/110: History of Mathematics

Instructor: Joseph D'mello

January 27, 2020

Pablo Valdez
2
BIOGRAPHY OF A MATHEMATICIAN

INTRODUCTION 

  There was a time when mathematics flourished thanks to exciting relationships by

letter. It was in France, at the beginning of the 17th century, that the habit of challenging

intellectuals to solve numerical problems and enigmas spread. And from those letters

and challenges, new disciplines of that science were born, like the theory of probabilities

or the infinitesimal calculation. 

 At the center of this intense postal exchange was Pierre de Fermat, an amateur

who became one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. Both because of his

discoveries and because of a final problem he left unsolved and which for more than

three centuries unsettled all those who tried to solve it - until a child read the story of

Fermat's Last Theorem and dreamt of finding the solution.

PIERRE DE FERMAT 

  The son of a wealthy leather merchant, Pierre de Fermat (August 17, 1601 -

January 12, 1665) studied civil law at the University of Orleans and progressed in his

judicial career until he reached an affluent position in the Parliament of Toulouse, which

allowed him to devote himself to his great hobby. (Boyer, 2020)

In the evenings, Fermat put aside the laws and devoted himself to deepening his

mathematical research. He studied the treatises of the wise men of classical Greece and

combined those old ideas with the new methods of the algebra of François Viète (1540-

1603). Fermat thus encountered problems that he challenged by letter to other scholars

such as Descartes and Pascal.

3
BIOGRAPHY OF A MATHEMATICIAN

  The result of their postal fights with the philosopher Rene Descartes inspired

Newton and Leibniz to develop infinitesimal calculus. Later, in 1654, (Boyer, 2020)

a writer (and professional gambler) asked the mathematician Blaise Pascal for help in

distributing fairly the money bet on an interrupted game of dice, based on the scores

obtained until then. Pascal challenged Fermat to solve the problem and together they

succeeded, thus laying the foundation for probability theory.

 Although Pierre de Fermat was known as the prince of amateurs, this French

mathematician discovered differential calculus before Newton and Leibniz, co-founded

probability theory with Blaise Pascal and independently of Descartes, and discovered the

fundamental principle of analytical geometry. 

PURE MATHEMATICS, GAME, AND SKILL.

 But Pierre de Fermat's greatest contributions to mathematics were in another

branch, number theory, which studies whole numbers, the relationships between them

and the patterns they follow. Pure mathematics, play, and ingenuity, with no direct

applications: for example, Fermat showed that 26 is the only number "caught" between a

square (52=25) and a cube (33=27). He used mathematical logic to show that no other

integer between zero and infinity meets that condition (x2+1=z= y3-1). And he

challenged his friends and rivals to prove it, too.

  However, this brilliant French mathematician was in the habit of not revealing his

calculations or the proofs of his theorems, which frustrated his opponents: Descartes

even called him a "braggart", and John Wallis referred to him as "that damned
4
BIOGRAPHY OF A MATHEMATICIAN

Frenchman". In that provocative style fits a note he left written in 1637 in the margin of

his copy of Diophantus’s Arithmetic: "I have found a truly wonderful demonstration, but

this margin is too narrow to contain it. That sentence accompanied another handwritten

statement by Fermat: "It is impossible to separate a cube into two cubes or a fourth

power into two fourth powers or, in general, any power greater than the second into two

powers like it".

  Translated into mathematical formulas, that means that it is impossible to find a

solution to any equation of the type xn + yn = zn (if we only use positive integers and

also n is greater than 2). Fermat never sent this challenge by letter and after his death,

his son Clément-Samuel found and published it. Thus, was born the legend of the

greatest problem in the history of mathematics.

THE LAST THEOREM

  Although he never revealed the proofs of his theorems, every one of them was

proved by other mathematicians during the 18th century, all except that marginal note,

which became known as Fermat's Last Theorem. After the nineteenth century, too, no

one had yet managed to find a solution to that equation - and thus prove Fermat wrong -

or to prove his theorem correct. Some great mathematicians like Sophie Germain

managed to find partial proofs (for concrete values of n), but none reached the general

proof.

  The new mathematical theories gave no clues as to how to approach the problem.

And during the 20th century, the development of computers made it increasingly clear

that Fermat was right, as in practice computer calculations were still unable to find
5
BIOGRAPHY OF A MATHEMATICIAN

numbers that fit into that equation, and for ever-larger values of n. But a definitive

theoretical test was needed. In 1963 a ten-year-old boy named Andrew Wiles read this

story in fascination and set out to devote his life to proving Fermat's Last Theorem. Two

decades later, Wiles had become a renowned mathematician; and so, he decided to

reclaim his childhood dream: he began secretly investigating the solution to the problem,

a task to which he devoted seven years.

Andrew Wiles completed his proof of Fermat's Last Theorem on September 19,

1994, after correcting a mistake that kept the scientific community on tenterhooks for a

year. He did so use innovative mathematical techniques, which did not exist in the 17th

century, leaving even more questions open: Did Fermat really have a proof of his

theorem, or was he just bluffing? Is it possible to prove it without the sophisticated

mathematics of today? 

CONCLUSION 

  Today it is very unusual for someone who does not come from the sciences, who

does not have a scientific background, to stand out in mathematics. But at other times

we can find a few examples. The one that occupies us is possibly the most brilliant

mathematical character among those who fulfill this premise. 

On August 17, 2020, it will be 419 years since the birth of the mathematician Pierre

Fermat. Of French origin, he is considered, along with Descartes, the most important

mathematician of the 17th century.

6
BIOGRAPHY OF A MATHEMATICIAN

Fermat made great contributions to differential calculus, probability theory, and

analytical geometry. However, he is best known for his contributions to number theory,

especially for what is known as Fermat's last theorem, which kept the mathematical

community in suspense for almost 350 years.

REFERENCE:

 Boyer, C. B. (2020, January 23). Pierre de Fermat. Retrieved January 27, 2020,

from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-de-Fermat
7
BIOGRAPHY OF A MATHEMATICIAN

 Who was Pierre de Fermat? Everything You Need to Know. (n.d.). Retrieved

January 28, 2020, from https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/pierre-de-

fermat-5067.php

 Pierre de Fermat. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://famous-mathematicians.org/pierre-

de-fermat/

 Pierre de Fermat - Mathematician Biography, Contributions and Facts. (n.d.).

Retrieved January 25, 2020, from https://www.famousmathematicians.net/pierre-

de-fermat/

 (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2020, from

https://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Fermat/RouseBall/RB_Fermat.html

 Pierre de Fermat. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2020, from

http://mathematica.ludibunda.ch/mathematicians3.html

 Pierre de Fermat Biography, Life, Interesting Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.sunsigns.org/famousbirthdays/d/profile/pierre-de-fermat/