From PAULA BEESLEY
With Fermat’s Last Theorem about to be declared finally proved I must admit
to feeling rather disappointed (New Scientist, Science, 3 July). I would
have really enjoyed the discovery of some obscure counter example with a
huge value of n, and I do regret losing such an excellent unsolved problem.
There was always the remote, tantalising possibility that perhaps it really
was possible to prove it with only the mathematics that Fermat had to hand.
Twenty-six years ago, when I first discovered for myself the beauty and
fascination of mathematics, there were two famous unsolved problems: The
Four-colour Problem and Fermat’s Last Theorem. Perhaps Ian Stewart can
supply us with some more unsolved problems to take their place.
Paula Beesley
Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire
