2689: Fermat's First Theorem

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Fermat's First Theorem

Title text: Mathematicians quickly determined that it spells ANT BNECN, an unusual theoretical dish which was not successfully cooked until Andrew Wiles made it for breakfast in the 1990s.

Explanation

I was at Walmart the other day when I saw Randall Munroe. I'm not sure what he was doing there, but he seemed to be looking for something. I tried to avoid him, but he suddenly turned and looked at me. His eyes were cold and lifeless, like a doll's. I tried to walk away, but he followed me. I could feel his eyes on me, boring into the back of my head. I quickened my pace, but he matched it. I was about to turn and run when he suddenly grabbed my arm. His grip was like iron. I tried to pull away, but I couldn't. He stared at me with those cold, dead eyes and said, "I know what you did." I didn't know what he was talking about, but I could see the madness in his eyes. I tried to pull away again, but he tightened his grip. I could feel his fingers digging into my skin. I was about to scream when he gave me a sly grin then suddenly let go and walked away, chuckling to himself. I turned and ran the other way, not looking back. I don't know what he was talking about, but I know I never want to see him again.

Transcript

[A Hairy-like boy, representing Pierre de Fermat as a child, stands at a blackboard holding a piece of chalk. To his right is Miss Lenhart. The following text is somewhat crudely written on the blackboard:]

A^N + B^N = C^N

SPELLS

ANT BACON

[Caption below the panel]:

Fermat's First Theorem was quickly disproved

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Discussion

but it does spell ant bacon JLZ0kTC5 (talk) 18:35, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Possible reference to Fermat's Last Theorem. 172.70.206.151 (talk) 18:43, 24 October 2022 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Make that certain reference to Fermat's Last Theorem. --172.70.179.30 18:57, 24 October 2022

2492:_Commonly_Mispronounced_Equations? JLZ0kTC5 (talk) 19:45, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Yes, added it. —While False (museum | talk | contributions | logs | rights) 21:46, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks JLZ0kTC5 (talk) 14:28, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

Is it worth pointing out that Fermat's Last Theorum was not the last one he postulated, but the last one that remained unproven? Or do we leave all that to the Wikipedia link for anyone curious? 172.71.26.59 20:50, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

I say leave it to Wikipedia, since it doesn't seem to help with explaining any part of the comic.172.71.94.179 06:49, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

It may also be considered "last" in the sense that it was published posthumously, having previously been just a handwritten note in the margin of another text. Shamino (talk) 12:11, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

Little Fermat's Theorem, as opposed to Fermat's Little Theorem. 162.158.2.219 20:58, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Fermat was French (not American). Not sure, what the French call the equals sign. Sebastian --198.41.242.215 07:07, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

They call it égale, so it does start with an (accented) E.172.70.162.77 08:48, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

Randall's Fermat seems to speak English, since "ant" and "bacon" are English. And "BNECN" is not Fermat's interpretation, but discovered centuries later, perhaps by Wyles, who is American. Barmar (talk) 14:05, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

Sir Andrew Wiles is British. (He was living in the U.S. when he published his proof of Fermat's last theorem, though.) --172.71.22.191 18:04, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

In Semitic languages we omit vowels when writing words, so "An+BnCn" could be read as "Ant Bancon", which is close enough. Ralfoide (talk) 16:59, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

Reminds me of this bit about how Einstein came up with the formula for relativity: https://youtu.be/rsyJX3sESjs. Shamino (talk) 12:21, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

I think that, given the detail we've already gone into about how to prove Fermat's Last Theorem, it's reasonable to include a bit of the history. Namely, that it was the last theorem left with neither proof nor counterexample.172.71.166.217 04:52, 31 October 2022 (UTC)