Andrew Wiles
Andrew Wiles
Sir Andrew John Wiles KBE FRSis a British mathematician and a Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Oxford, specialising in number theory. He is most notable for proving Fermat's Last Theorem, for which he received the 2016 Abel Prize. Wiles has received numerous other honours...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMathematician
Date of Birth11 April 1953
four want infinity
Mathematicians aren't satisfied because they know there are no solutions up to four million or four billion, they really want to know that there are no solutions up to infinity.
challenges trying problem
Pure mathematicians just love to try unsolved problems - they love a challenge.
dream childhood able
I had this rare privilege of being able to pursue in my adult life, what had been my childhood dream.
trying matter problem
Always try the problem that matters most to you.
thinking understanding problem
I tried to fit it in with some previous broad conceptual understanding of some part of mathematics that would clarify the particular problem I was thinking about.
believe english-mathematician himself
I don't believe Fermat had a proof. I think he fooled himself into thinking he had a proof.
children relax way
The only way I could relax was when I was with my children.
mean solutions
Just because we can't find a solution it doesn't mean that there isn't one.
mean privilege adults
I know it's a rare privilege, but if one can really tackle something in adult life that means that much to you, then it's more rewarding than anything I can imagine.
mean track goal
I really believed that I was on the right track, but that did not mean that I would necessarily reach my goal