Fermat's enigma: Chapter one

The mathematical life of a mathematician is short. Work rarely improves after the age of twenty-five or thirty. If little has been accomplished by then, little will ever be accomplished. - Alfred Adler

June 23, 1993, Cambridge
This section tells us about the many mathematicians who "have had brilliant but short careers".

Andrew Wiles, at the age of forty, was just getting started. He had spent the last seven years working in secrecy (against popular convention of university math departments). He was presenting his discovery at the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge. He did that against his better judgement. He wanted more time to recheck his work but threw caution in the wind as he has the opportunity to present his work to an eminent audience in his hometown.

The last problem
"In 1963", this section begins as it tells us about Andrew's fascination with mathematics. It was that year, at the age of ten, when Wiles first encountered Fermat's last theorem in a library book called The Last Problem by Eric Temple Bell.

to be continued (in the same post)

Capstone: Introduction

Capstone is a two hour course. It meets twice a week for an hour each. We will work on the big picture and discuss how people do math.

1. Article summary/presentations 
2. Course outlines/presentations 
3. Practice problems 
4. Book reports 
5. Maple assignments 
6. Term papers/presentation 
7. Comprehensive exam 

About course outlines: Make your course outlines two or three pages long, not fourteen pages long. Make copies for everyone in class. You will need it for the final. 

Book report: Half or more can be a summary and the other half can be a ... . 

Five to seven minute things: 

1. Set operations Ku
2. Logical operations Li
3. Negations La
4. Direct proof Ha
5. Proof by contrapositive St 
6. Proof by induction Mi
7. Proof by contradiction Ev

It is three chapters for each chapter 

Calculus I: Dr Reeves and La 

Chapters 2 to 4

Calculus II: Mi and Ha 

Chapters 5, 7, 8

Calculus III: Ev and Li 

Chapters 9 to 11

Calculus IV: Ku and St 

Chapters 12 to 14

Choices are: 

DE:  Ha

Linear: St 

Numerical: La

Prob and stat: Ev

Geometry: Li

Abstract: Mi

Reals: Ku