Proofs like Wiles brilliant solution of the famous Fermat Last Theorem are long and difficult.

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What impact did computers have on solving Fermat's theorem?

FORBES: Simon Singh says

His method relies on some fairly basic mathematics indeed, it uses another of Fermat's theorems, known as Fermat's little theorem.

ECONOMIST: Number theory

It involves questions like Fermat's Last Theorem and the Riemann Hypothesis.

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However, the famous Fermat's Last Theorem tells us that if the numbers are not squared but, say, multiplied three times (cubed) then no numbers can be found that will work.

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At Harvard (class of '72) he studied mathematics and he maintains his interest in the world of figures, socializing with math professors and even moderating a discussion about the solution of Fermat's Last Theorem.

FORBES: Polymath scion

For a comprehensive yet eminently comprehensible account of how cosmologists pieced together the history of the universe, turn to the latest book by Simon Singh, a British science writer best known for his bestselling account of the solution of Fermat's last theorem.

ECONOMIST: The quest to explain the structure of the universe