海角大神

A three-century-old mathematics problem known as Fermat鈥檚 Last Theorem first caught the attention of Andrew Wiles, now a professor at Oxford University, when he was 10 years old.

Now, his 鈥渟tunning proof鈥� that cracked the 358-year-old problem in 1994 has netted him the world鈥檚 top international prize for mathematics.

On Tuesday, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters for mathematics to Dr. Wiles for his work on the problem that had captivated the mathematician for much of his life.

鈥淔ew results have as rich a mathematical history and as dramatic a proof as Fermat鈥檚 Last Theorem,鈥� the Abel Committee said of Wiles鈥� proof, which he completed while a professor at Princeton University.

The prize, worth 6 million Norwegian Krone ($700,000), is widely regarded as mathematics鈥� Nobel.

Explaining its decision, the committee noted that Wiles had 鈥渙pen[ed] a new era in number theory,鈥� and developed new tools that have allowed researchers to make larger efforts to bring disparate branches of mathematics together,

Wiles said the theorem's seeming simplicity captivated him when he first read about it as a 10-year-old browsing the local library in Cambridge, England. As formulated by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in 1637, it states, 鈥淭here are no whole number solutions to the equatio苍听xⁿ +yⁿ =z^苍听 when n is greater than 2.鈥� [Editor's note: An earlier version misstated Fermat's theorem.]

Fermat himself but said the proof was too large to fit in the margin of his copy of Arithmetica, a text by the ancient Greek mathematician Diophantus, where he had written the problem.

鈥淭his problem captivated me,鈥� Wiles told the Guardian. 鈥淲hat amazed me was that there were some unsolved problems that someone who was 10 years old could understand and even try,鈥� he said, noting that he had tried repeatedly to solve it as a teenager.

Despite Fermat鈥檚 own claims, Wiles鈥� proof proved to be groundbreaking. 鈥淚n fact,鈥� The New York Times wrote in a review of a 1996 book about the theorem, 鈥渨hen Mr. Wiles finally did prove that the theorem is true, he used techniques that could not have been known to Fermat, so whether the thinker of the 17th century really did have a solution to his problem cannot be known."

To complete his proof, Wiles worked partly in secret beginning in 1986 while at Princeton, collaborating with his former student Richard Taylor, Princeton said on Wednesday.

鈥淚 knew from that moment that I would never let it go,鈥� Wiles told the Abel Committee. 鈥淚 had to solve it.鈥�