"But perhaps that's always the way with math problems, and we just have to find new ones to capture our attention."

Andrew Wiles Mathematics See all quotes by Andrew Wiles →

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“But what has made this problem special for amateurs is that there's a tiny possibility that there does exist an elegant 17th-century proof.”

“Fermat couldn't possibly have had this proof.”

“I know it's a rare privilege, but if one can really tackle something in adult life that means that much to you, then it's more rewarding than anything I can imagine.”

“Always try the problem that matters most to you.”

“However impenetrable it seems, if you don't try it, then you can never do it.”

“But the best problem I ever found, I found in my local public library. I was just browsing through the section of math books and I found this one book, which was all about one particular problem -- Fermat's Last Theorem.”

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