geek streak... hehe

last week, I experienced a geek streak writing an essay for one of my applications. Check this out!

Our world, I believe, is held together by ideas and theories that constitute its existence. For example, the laws of physics dictate the physical movement of objects, while philosophical ideas influence the way we act and feel. However, not all theories are as one-dimensional as it seems.

Growing up, I had a unique passion for numbers. In fact, my Saturdays were spent in a cold, brightly lit room filled with students like me – students who had a special talent and dedication to mathematics. As expected, we were introduced to new theorems and postulates every week. However, it was during one of these sessions when I encountered this statement:

“There are no non-zero integers x, y, and z such that xⁿ + yⁿ = zⁿ where n is an integer greater than 2.”

This is the infamous Fermat’s Last Theorem.

As a young student, I furiously attempted to disprove the theorem, scribbling away for hours trying to find a counterexample. I thought it encompassed too much to be true, and considered it more as a generalization rather than an accepted fact. We all know that Pythagorean triples exist for n=2, so it seemed illogical that there would be no corresponding solutions when n is greater than 2.

As it turned out, I did not have the necessary knowledge and ability to prove this, even until now. This theorem was claimed to be formulated in 1637 by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat. However, the existence of a proof by him puzzled humanity for ages, up to this very day. Mankind has tried to prove it ever since, but has fared terribly. In fact, from 1908 to 1912, more than 1000 false proofs were published. It was only in 1993 when a British mathematician named Andrew Wiles proved it through another conjecture. Despite further revisions of the proof thereafter to solidify its credibility, people still claim that the proof is indirect, and would not have been the method that Fermat himself would have used.

During my personal research on this theorem, not only have I discovered its physical complexity, but also derived from it an unlikely parallel to philosophy. Fermat’s Last Theorem can be understood and appreciated even by children who understand exponents. However, there is no tangible proof to it; one can only stare and be amazed at its mystery. Some people might attempt to manipulate it to their own liking, but fail to convince both others and self in the long run. I believe that this is very much similar to our lives – easily experienced, but impossible to control. Like an equation with four variables, a person’s life also has different possibilities, only the variations are limitless.

Indeed, this juxtaposition of life and numbers introduced to me ideas I have never before encountered. If something as figurative as numbers can be linked to our ever-changing lives, then all things in this world should be and would be helplessly related to each other. An event will only occur as a result of another, and life cannot be directed willfully, but only the tiniest details can be planned for. The result is never totally in our hands. As a result, we can only marvel or frown at the eventual turn of events.

One day, with more sophisticated mathematical methods, somebody might actually present a proof that will silence critics and leave curious students like me satisfied. However, the life lessons that Fermat’s Last Theorem has taught me on this day and age will remain with me forever, as even though puzzles may be solved, the great riddle of life would never be.

Haha.

Speaking of geeks, she's 28 already. I'm such a nerd. haha