Pierre de Fermat

French lawyer, mathematician and physicist Pierre de Fermat (August 17, 1601 January 12, 1665) is n!wn as the "#rince !$ Amateurs%& 'is name will always (e ass!ciated with his li ely mista en claim !$ ha)ing $!und a pr!!$ !$ his $am!us "*ast +he!rem,& which asserted the imp!ssi(ility !$ e,pressing any num(er that is a p!wer greater than tw! as the sum !$ tw! li e p!wers% 'e is m!re deser)ing !$ (eing remem(ered $!r de)el!ping the m!dern the!ry !$ num(ers- disc!)ering the (asic principles !$ analytic ge!metry, independently !$ .en/ 0escartes- $inding e1uati!ns $!r tangent lines t! cur)es and a meth!d !$ determining minima and ma,ima p!ints !$ cur)es- and esta(lishing a meth!d $!r the 1uadrature !$ para(!las simpler than that due t! Archimedes, thus laying the $!undati!ns up!n which 2saac 3ewt!n (uilt his in$initesimal calculus- sharing with 4laise #ascal the $!unding !$ the the!ry !$ pr!(a(ility- and ad)ancing the principle that light when re$lected, always ta es the path $!r which the tra)el time is the least% Fr!m this "principle !$ least time,& the law !$ re$racti!n and the law !$ re$lecti!n were deduced% Fermat did n!t pu(lish his w!r in the usual sense% 5nly !ne ma6!r manuscript appeared during his li$etime% 'is results were c!ntained in )!lumin!us c!rresp!ndences with $riends, n!tes in the margins !$ his (!! s, and challenges t! !thers t! $ind pr!!$s !$ the!rems he de)ised% 'e en6!yed the pleasure !$ disc!)ery m!re than any reputati!n his w!r might (ring him%

Fermat was (!rn in 4eaum!nt7de7*!magne, the s!n !$ a wealthy leather merchant% 5$ his early li$e and educati!n little is n!wn with certainty% 2t seems that he recei)ed a classical sec!ndary educati!n $irst at the c!n)ent !$ the 8!rdeliers in 4eaum!nt, run (y the Franciscans, and then studied with the Jesuits% Fermat attended the 9ni)ersity !$ +!ul!use where he (egan his $irst seri!us mathematical research,

which led t! his meth!ds $!r $inding tangents t! cur)es and their ma,imum and minimum p!ints% 'e m!)ed t! 4!rdeau, s!me time in the 1620s and studied 6urisprudence at the 9ni)ersity !$ 5rleans, recei)ing a 4achel!r !$ 8i)il *aws in 16:1% +hat same year he purchased the !$$ices !$ c!uncil!r at the parliament in +!ul!use, and married his $!urth c!usin *!uise de *!ng, with wh!m he had $i)e children% Fermat recei)ed many g!)ernmental app!intments, and alth!ugh he appears t! ha)e (een an indi$$erent lawyer, he was a success$ul magistrate% 'e recei)ed many pr!m!ti!ns, in part (ecause many !$ the !lder men in the c!urts were illed (y plagues%

+he mathematical the!ry !$ pr!(a(ility (egan as a result !$ Fermat;s c!rresp!ndence with 4laise #ascal% <am(ler 8he)alier de =ere 1uesti!ned the c!mm!n assumpti!n that a d!u(le si, w!uld appear in 2> r!lls !$ a pair !$ dice% 'e als! as ed #ascal h!w m!ney at sta e sh!uld (e di)ided am!ng e1ually s illed players sh!uld they st!p playing (e$!re the game is c!mpleted% #ascal s!ught Fermat;s !pini!n and in a series !$ $i)e letters, they agreed that the pr!(a(ility is e1ual $!r all !utc!mes, (ut !ne must determine all the pr!(a(le !utc!mes, and then calculate h!w many are $a)!ra(le t! the desired !utc!me% Fermat;s meth!d !$ arri)ing at the answer was simpler than #ascal;s, (eing (uilt up!n determining c!m(inati!ns%

Fermat had a l!ng ri)alry with 0escartes that !riginated with s!me critical remar s he made a(!ut 0escartes; w!r "*a 0i!ptri1ue%& Fermat claimed 0escartes had n!t c!rrectly deduced the law !$ re$racti!n% 0escartes was $uri!us and did as much as he c!uld t! damage Fermat;s reputati!n, asserting that Fermat was inade1uate as a mathematician and as a thin er% 'e attac ed Fermat;s meth!d !$ ma,ima, minima and tangents, which led t! a heated argument, e)entually re$erred t! <irard 0esargues t! re$eree% Fermat was pr!)ed t! (e c!rrect and 0escartes $inally admitted this in writing% 0espite 0escartes; e$$!rts, Fermat;s reputati!n as !ne !$ the leading mathematicians !$ his time was $irmly esta(lished, e)en th!ugh he resisted attempts t! c!n)ince him t! prepare his w!r $!r pu(licati!n% 'is

w!r was n!t as highly regarded as it deser)ed t! (e (ecause he ga)e n! e,p!siti!ns !$ his meth!ds, and he used the aw ward n!tati!n !$ Fran?!is @iAte, which had (een made !(s!lete (y 0escartes; n!tati!ns used in his Gomtrie%

Fermat;s ma6!r mathematical interest was in num(er the!ry% B!me !$ the m!st )alua(le !$ his results were disc!)ered a$ter his death !n l!!se sheets !$ paper !r in the margins !$ (!! s he had read and ann!tated% 'is $riends $eared that since he had n!t pu(lished anything his w!r w!uld (e $!rg!tten a$ter his death% 'is s!n 8lement7Bamuel c!llected his $ather;s letters, mathematical papers, and c!mments written in (!! s, a t!tal !$ s!me :000 mathematical items% +he Opera mathematica !$ Fermat were pu(lished in tw! )!lumes in 1670 and 167C% 2t was in the margins !$ his c!py !$ the n!w l!st 8laude 4achet;s translati!n !$ 0i!phantus; Arithmetica that his $am!us "*ast +he!rem& appears% 'e claimed that there are n! p!siti)e integers x, y and z such that, xn D yn E zn, $!r integers n F 2% Fermat went !n t! sayG "2;)e $!und a remar a(le pr!!$ !$ this $act, (ut there is n!t en!ugh space in the margin t! write it%&

2n 1CC> Andrew Hiles success$ully pr!)ed the the!rem that had $ascinated many pr!$essi!nal and amateur mathematicians in the inter)ening years% As t! Fermat;s claim !$ ha)ing $!und "a remar a(le pr!!$,& it is unli ely% 'e may ha)e disc!)ered a meth!d $!r pr!)ing the cases when nE: and nE> and (ecame c!n)inced that similar pr!!$s w!uld w!r in the general case% An!ther !$ Fermat;s pu(liciIed c!n6ectures turned !ut t! (e $alse% 'e asserted his (elie$ that num(ers !$ the $!rm 1 m!re than 2 raised t! the p!wer 2n were prime num(ers% 'e seems t! ha)e (een c!n)inced when this was sh!wn t! (e the case $!r n J 5% A century later Kuler dem!nstrated the s!7called Fermat number F(n) was n!t prime when n E 5, in $act 2:2 D 1 E >,2C>,C67,2C7 E 6>1 , 6,700,>17%

*ater 8arl Friedrich <auss $!und a use $!r di)is!rs !$ Fermat num(ers when he sh!wed that a regular

p!lyg!n with n sides is c!nstructi(le with straightedge and c!mpass i$ n is a prime Fermat num(er !r a pr!duct !$ di$$erent Fermat primes% Fermat;s claim !$ ha)ing $!und a pr!!$ !$ his "*ast +he!rem& was !nly a pri)ate c!mment, which wasn;t c!rresp!nded t! !ther mathematicians n!r did he !$$er it as a challenge t! !thers as he !$ten did with results he had already pr!)ed% #erhaps Fermat disc!)ered a $law in the pr!!$ he (elie)ed he had, and ne)er cr!ssed !ut his c!mment (ecause he ne)er e,pected any!ne t! see it%

Fermat was the $irst t! use a meth!d !$ pr!!$ called the "in$inite descent%& 2t is a particular type !$ pr!!$ (y mathematical inducti!n% A typical applicati!n is sh!w that n! p!siti)e integer e,ists with a certain pr!perty% Assume the c!ntrary, that s!me p!siti)e integer x has the pr!perty% 3e,t, deduce that there is s!me p!siti)e integer y J x that als! has the pr!perty% .epeat this argument inde$initely thus in$initely descending thr!ugh all p!siti)e integers% +hen !ne must sh!w that this in$inite descent implied (y ha)ing a wh!le se1uence !$ s!luti!ns that are e)en smaller, (y !ur ch!sen measure, is imp!ssi(le% +his is a c!ntradicti!n s! n! p!siti)e integer e,ists with the gi)en pr!perty% 2n a letter 1u!ted in Heil;s Number Theory, Fermat descri(ed his use meth!dsG

"As !rdinary meth!ds, such as are $!und in (!! s, are inade1uate t! pr!)ing such di$$icult pr!p!siti!ns, 2 disc!)ered at last a m!st singular meth!d L which 2 called the in$inite descent% At $irst 2 used it !nly t! pr!)e negati)e asserti!nsL +! apply it t! a$$irmati)e 1uesti!ns is much harder, s! when 2 had t! pr!)e MK)ery prime !$ the $!rm >n D 1 is the sum !$ tw! s1uares,& 2 $!und mysel$ in a s!rry plight (en (elle peine)% 4ut at last such 1uesti!ns pr!)ed amena(le t! my meth!ds%&

0uring the peri!d $r!m 16>: t! 165>, Fermat;s c!rresp!ndence with !ther mathematicians ceased in part (ecause !$ a ci)il war in the c!untry greatly a$$ecting +!ul!use% Further the plague struc the

regi!n in the 1650s% Fermat died in 8astres, near +!ul!use, in his si,ty7$i$th year% 2t wasn;t until a hundred years later that Kuler succeeded in gi)ing pr!!$s !$ m!st !$ the num(er the!ry pr!(lems that Fermat claimed t! ha)e s!l)ed (ut $!r which had n!t rec!rded his pr!!$s%

Quotation of the Day: "2 ha)e s! little aptitude in writing !ut my NmathematicalO dem!nstrati!ns
that 2 ha)e (een c!ntent t! ha)e disc!)ered the truth, and t! n!w the means !$ pr!)ing it when 2 shall ha)e reas!n t! d! s!%& #ierre de Fermat