Fermat’s Last Theorem A Poem by Leela Downward Read by Leela, Ivy, Leha, Anya, Chloe and Sienna of Kensington Prep School at the University of Oxford Wednesday 7 th October 2015

A theorem that was unsolved for years, Had left many mathematicians in tears. The principal seemed to fit, But nobody could quite prove it !

Fermat’s last idea seemed simple but beware, When asked to add two numbers, each one squared, A random answer off the shelf Might be another number times itself!

Pythagoras made this the big news, Helping generations find the hypotenuse, But when the numbers are cubed or more, Fermat thought that idea hit floor. He proved his theorem in his head, Couldn’t fit it in the margin and then dropped dead!

Andrew Wiles, a boy aged ten, Was intrigued by this problem, He mused upon this curious case, And decided that it must be fate, He would prove this age-old maths was right He’d be working, working through the night. However, little did he know, It would take him forty years or so!

The years went by- Time does fly! Andy graduated from college But still he didn’t have the knowledge To prove that Fermat had told the truth- And he was running out of youth!

So, for a while, he gave up on his dream, Decided to go a bit less mainstream He continued to live a quiet life But not proving this problem racked him with strife! Thus, again, age thirty-three, He decided he would go down in history

For seven years he kept on working He hid away, sure that the proof was lurking- So sure enough, in 1993 He pursued his destiny And revealed what was thought a solution to the public But they saw something that he hadn’t when in private A very, very slight flaw But it still showed that his proof was no more.

He continued working for a year Until it was very clear That he had indeed found the proof And this time he made sure that no ends were loose! So finally, he’d got it right The problem hadn’t half given up a fight! However, the story doesn’t end here- Wiles wasn’t the only one interested by Fermat’s idea!

The Simpsons, a show run by mathematical prodigies, Insisted that Homer’s bumbling philosophy Had led him to discover a brand new equation, One that did indeed rise to the occasion, He supposedly sent years of maths down the drain, However two sums can be nearly the same,

And 3987 to the power of twelve to the power of twelve = 4472 to the power of twelve Is in fact a near-miss situation, Fooling most calculators’ computation It is correct to 15 decimal places Thus for a while Homer was front of the races.

Alas, it was not quite so (As he would undoubtedly say, ‘D’oh!’)

So, that brings us to the end of the story I hope that I didn’t bore ye But isn’t it truly inspiring One man’s determination when deciphering A supposedly impossible task That seemed rather a lot to ask Yet, even so, he solved the conjecture I hope that you enjoyed my lecture!

Thank you!