Re: Algebraic Proof of Fermat's Last Theorem
- From: magidin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Arturo Magidin)
- Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 03:47:45 +0000 (UTC)
In article <20027404.1127098635980.JavaMail.jakarta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Jack Leitner <jleitner@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>If you won't believe me, then what is the point of telling you.
Here's a very useful key you might consider using from time to time: ?
It's called a question mark. I it is used because it is impossible to
tell intonation from plain writing, and the way we normally tell the
difference between an assertion and a question is in large part by the
intonation.
We cannot believe you ->now<-, because all you have done is posted a
comment which seemed to show that you are not very familiar with what
is known and what is not known about the result, or about standard
mathematical terminology (confusing "algebraic" with, apparently,
"elementary"; and misusing the term "indirect proof"); and then simply
asserted you have a proof. It is easy to assert that you have a
proof. The question is: why should anyone believe you merely on your
say-so?
This is true not only of Fermat's Last Theorem, but also of any other
mathematical result, both hard and easy, both new and old, and
everywhere in between.
>You have such high regard for this theorem, not because it's so
>difficult to prove, but because of all the great mathematicians that
>tried and failed.
The theorem itself was not "highly regarded". But, as with a lot of
what Fermat said, it was felt that proving the result would
necessarily require the development of new and exciting
techniques. This was true of his Christmas Theorem (from which the
rich theory of bilinear forms can be said to have arisen), for
instance.
>I wager that they weren't so great because they failed!
The greatness of many of those mathematicians is independent of their
attempts (or lack thereof) at problems they did not manage to
solve. Gauss did not solve lots of problems he set his mind to
(possibly including Fermat's Last Theorem); does that make him any
less great? If you think so, then your opinion is not worth much.
You think you have an elementary proof of Fermat's Last Theorem? Good
for you. Until such time as you submit it to careful independent
review, all you have is your say so, and any feelings of greatness or
achievements you may derive from this assertion. Don't expect people
to fall all over themselves to adulate you simply because you claim to
have what so many have claimed to have before you, and so many have in
fact failed to have.
--
======================================================================
"It's not denial. I'm just very selective about
what I accept as reality."
--- Calvin ("Calvin and Hobbes")
======================================================================
Arturo Magidin
magidin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
.
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