# Fermat's Theorem **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 24, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989 "2011-05-24T05:58:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/81 "2011-05-26T21:19:25Z")
> [@mla1](#): > > 23 =15+16 > that two terms and the power is one therefore it doesn’t. Only from 2. Why does it have to be 23, 15, and 16? Why not 31 = 15 + 16? Or 2 = 1 + 1? I thought you were just making the claim that there are _some_ positive integers solving the equation x[sup]n[/sup]=w[sub]1[/sub][sup]n[/sup]+ … + w[sub]n-p[/sub][sup]n[/sup]? Please try to be clear about what exactly you are claiming… ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/82 "2011-05-26T21:21:05Z")
Statements are a dime a dozen. What’s your proof? ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/83 "2011-05-26T21:21:29Z")
sorry its late 5^2=3^2+4^2 in this case p = 0 but if you did the power of eights accroding to an earlier post it would be greater than 0 n in this case = 2 ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/84 "2011-05-26T21:23:12Z")
You so bright have a crack. I can barely understand fermat’s proof. It works to the eighth power. If there was a proof we both know that typing it out would take hours. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/85 "2011-05-26T21:23:15Z")
> [@mla1](#): > > How brilliant am I So brilliant. So very brilliant. Is that all you want to hear? All for nought if no one can understand what the fuck you’re saying… ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/86 "2011-05-26T21:26:25Z")
In fermat’s proof a number to the power had to equal (or in that case not equal ) two terms with the same exponent. xn=w1n+ … + wn -p? that last term means that if the power is 19 there will be more than 19 terms each to the power of 19 needed to equal on term to the power of ninetee. at the same time it says that it may by less but never ever more. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/87 "2011-05-26T21:27:27Z")
You all so clever and I a 16 year old confused you. that is very sad ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/88 "2011-05-26T21:33:32Z")
Speaking unclearly is not a sign of brilliance. For example: > [@mla1](#): > > there will be more than 19 terms Gotcha, more than 19. > [@](#): > > at the same time it says that it may by less but never ever more. Gotcha, never ever more than 19. Wait, what? **ultrafilter** ’s point is also worth re-emphasizing: any idiot can come up with a random conjecture. It’s only significant to the extent that you can give some compelling explanation of why it should be true (either a proof of the conjecture, or a plan for how one might expect to produce such a proof). Fermat was not a brilliant mathematician for conjecturing Fermat’s “last theorem”; any idiot could have conjectured it. That’s worth nothing. Fermat was a brilliant mathematician for his other work, the mathematics where he actually delivered the goods. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/89 "2011-05-26T21:42:40Z")
Fermat never proved it he worked for many years after he allegedley developed it trying to do it with 4 and 5. I can make proofs its long and tedious but i have. But this is a different beast. yes statements are worth nothing. if you are brilliant try prove it right or wrong do either. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/90 "2011-05-26T21:43:44Z")
I brillint at maths not english ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/91 "2011-05-26T21:46:30Z")
Don’t mock my english I’m so tired have you seen that statement before ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/92 "2011-05-26T21:49:15Z")
I don’t know, because the statement is unclear. I still don’t understand why you ruled out n = 1, nor what you meant by claiming both “there will be more than [n] terms” and “it may by less but never ever more” at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/93 "2011-05-26T21:52:03Z")
If x1^n + xn^n = y^n The answer for n is 2. There are n terms to get y^n Keep one if you want ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/94 "2011-05-26T21:54:02Z")
I suppose this thread isn’t making **aruvqan** any happier about the nature of mathematics… ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/95 "2011-05-26T21:55:23Z")
trust me if he gets this and it is true. fermat’s last equation hold nearly no relevance. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/96 "2011-05-26T21:56:37Z")
> [@mla1](#): > > You all so clever and I a 16 year old confused you. that is very sad [Moderator Note] **mla1** , as I have just noted in another thread, you will do better here if you drop this hostile attitude. Also, you may have problems with English, but unless you make more of an effort to post coherently you will continue to confuse people regardless of how brilliant you think you are. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/97 "2011-05-26T22:24:07Z")
**mla1** , having confused someone is nothing to be proud of. _Anyone_ can confuse people, that’s easy. For instance, I might write up a post something like hblrv vcg; sch g clifvbenru vbeilr fc ua; vrabu ;a cwu. Is that confusing? Yes. But it doesn’t mean I’m a genius. What takes a genius is managing to explain something complicated to other people _without_ confusing them. Why don’t you give a try at doing that? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/98 "2011-05-26T22:37:09Z")
I think what \*\*mla1 \*\*is conjecturing is this. That if you write equations like x^3 = a^3 + b^3 + c^3 or x^4 = a^4 + b^4 + c^4 + d^4 where the number of summed terms is equal to the power that you’re using, then you can find a solution that uses only integers. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/99 "2011-05-26T22:43:17Z")
That’s what I originally thought, too, but there’s all this business about more or less terms that seems to keep changing, and I also can’t see why the solvability of the case x^1 = a^1 is excluded. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/100 "2011-05-26T23:05:11Z")
Sigh. Trying to talk math seriously with someone without any mathematical maturity is a fool’s errand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989.md?page=6)