This song was inspired by Andrew Wiles, the British Mathematician who recently worked out a proof for Fermat's Last Theorem. Fermat's Last Theorem says that x + y = z has no non-zero integer solutions for x, y and z when n>2. In what has to be one of the most incredible statements in the history of mathematics, Fermat wrote, "I have discovered a truly remarkable proof which this margin is too small to contain." You can see from the image above that I had a similar problem when asked to prove Fermat's Last Theorem on a test.

For more than 300 years, the elusive proof of Fermat's Last Theorem was the Holy Grail of mathematics. Finally, in 1993, after seven years of work, Wiles set the world of mathematics aflame when he announced that he had a proof for the theorem. Unfortunately, one of his ruminations turned out to be in error, and he had to ask for help from his friend, Richard Taylor. Taylor and Wiles did indeed work out the problem, and until shown otherwise, their work is considered to be the long sought after proof.

The story of Wiles pursuit of the solution to the famous problem is all the more inspiring because he had to return to the drawing board and work on his error in what was essentially public view. It took a great deal of courage to face that and succeed.

The name of this song comes from a key component leading to the final proof of the theorem. There were certain theories of geometry that bore a stark resemblance to Fermat's Last Theorem. These theories already had proof. So Taniyama and Shimura conjected that Fermat's Last Theorem was indeed equivalent to this other geometric theory. If that could be proven, then Fermat's Last Theorem would be proven. That is the center around which Wiles' efforts revolved.

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