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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
I bought this book expecting it'd read like a dry math textbook, but damn I was in for a surprise. Immediately starting this after finishing Dune, I wasn't sure if the book was going to reel me in as much (of course these two aren't comparable per se). The initial pages fed this apprehension, as I felt Singh spent more time explaining some basic ideas than needed. However, Fermat's Last Theorem turned out to be one of the most exhilarating books I've read. I loved how Singh wrote the story of the mathematicians who had a hand in creating the tools/circumstances that'd lead to the final proof. This is one of the best accounts of human ingenuity and tenacity. I strongly recommend this book to everyone, irrespective of their level of interest in math.
very nerdy about about as exciting a number theory book as you're going to find.
As pretty much the first "popular" maths book that I've ever read this far out did my expectations. It was easy enough to understand, you could pretty much completely avoid the maths. But I loved reading the appendices at the back of the book, they were a nice little touch. And it's nice to see how a puzzle is gradually tackled, bit by bit, by the greatest mathematicians of each generation. All from a scribble in a margin. I really liked how Singh formatted the whole book, and I'll definitely be reading some of his books next (I have my eye on "The Code Book"). Seriously read this if you have any interest in maths, or history, or books. (See you can tell how much I liked it- I haven't read a book this quickly in a while)
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
This was an epic read! Who knew that math could be so incredibly thrilling like this! The story of Fermat's last Theorem takes in virtually every aspect of Math, every age of Math, and many of its most colorful and important actors.
Singh does a wonderful job of making this an exciting, engaging, page-turning read. Even those who are not mathematically inclined should try this book.
Singh does a wonderful job of making this an exciting, engaging, page-turning read. Even those who are not mathematically inclined should try this book.
The fascinating story of one of the biggest riddles of mathematics that had confounded the community for three and a half centuries and eventually solved by Sir Andrew Wiles after an almost eight year long struggle. Ever since his childhood, Sir Wiles had dreamed of proving Fermat's Last Theorem and it was by no means an easy dream to accomplish. The final proof was a culmination of all the milestone events in the history of mathematics right from Pythagoras to the recent Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture which had to be proven true to establish the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.
Simon Singh does a great job of uncovering all these events to give us the bigger picture from a mathematical perspective. I was aware of the profoundly simple statement of the titular theorem but being a math student, I was a little bit more than aware having studied abstract algebra and number theory. I was starting to feel my love for math disappearing but reading this book reminded me of the profound beauty of math. To the non-mathematical mind this may have been a meaningless pursuit, but the proof of the theorem and the other doors it opened is promising for the future of math in respect to the grand unification theory which as the name suggests would unify various branches of mathematics.
Simon Singh does a great job of uncovering all these events to give us the bigger picture from a mathematical perspective. I was aware of the profoundly simple statement of the titular theorem but being a math student, I was a little bit more than aware having studied abstract algebra and number theory. I was starting to feel my love for math disappearing but reading this book reminded me of the profound beauty of math. To the non-mathematical mind this may have been a meaningless pursuit, but the proof of the theorem and the other doors it opened is promising for the future of math in respect to the grand unification theory which as the name suggests would unify various branches of mathematics.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This book completely swept me away. I first heard this story from Simon on the Numberphile podcast, so I knew I was in for a tale of drama, suspense, heartbreak, and catharsis! But I didn't anticipate just how enjoyable Simon's storytelling would be. I especially loved how he toured through time, introducing us to all sorts of mathematicians through the ages who had any tangential relation to Fermat's theorem. And despite his warning that he wouldn't get into much mathematics, I loved the explanations about elliptical equations, modular forms, group theory, and all that fun stuff. Simon's writing was upbeat and - while at times a bit strident (his dismissal of experimental science was quite harsh!) - thoroughly enjoyable. Can't wait to pick up another book of his!