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Does Andrew Wiles even understand everything about his proof of Fermat's Last Theorem

Does he? Supposedly it uses lots of results from different branches to his specialties ... is it feasible for him to understand everything of his proof?

Could an undergrad dropout self teach his proof, assuming they were fairly bright?
Wiles spent a good number of years compiling his proof, he is extremely bright, so he should be able to understand everything in it, even more so after delivering it in a 3 hour lecture. With difficult, high level mathematics such a Fermat's Last Theorem, especially when it's proof is concerned, I think it's ridiculous for the creator not to know. As he used lots of different branches, he must've understood them all in order to apply them directly to the FLT.

I haven't read the proof, but I don't think an undergrad dropout could self teach the proof, unless he/she has lots of time in order to get familiar with all the concepts behind it and know them inside out.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by fermat1324
Does he? Supposedly it uses lots of results from different branches to his specialties ... is it feasible for him to understand everything of his proof?

Could an undergrad dropout self teach his proof, assuming they were fairly bright?


Well he did write his proof.
He did specialise in modular forms and eliptical curves.
I guess an undergraduate could understand it if they have done a course in eliptical curves/modular forms which is probably ver very rare. The proof is of an very very high level. Depends by what you mean by bright.



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Doing just an undergrad elliptic curves/ modular forms modules certainly would not be sufficient to understand the proof.
Not entirely sure but I do not even think that the majority of Number Theory PHD students can understand it.

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