|
|
Article: Drama in numbers: putting a passion for mathematics on stage.
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- December 21, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
As the curtain rises, an illuminated mathematical expression dominates the scene. "Do you see that theorem?" the narrator asks. "In 1637, Pierre de Fermat ... wrote it down in the margin of a book. Then he added this tantalizing note." A spotlight suddenly reveals a bearded, bewigged, flashily dressed Fermat, who promptly sings, "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof, a truly marvelous proof of this, which this margin is not large enough to contain."
Next, a quick succession of vignettes portraying centuries of immense mathematical frustration spawned by Fermat's never-recorded proof--known as Fermat's last theorem--unfolds across the checkerboard floor of a ...