An amateur needing advice on FLT

[James Harris]

I'm not a professional mathematician but after hearing about Wile's proof
of FLT, I thought it'd be interesting to work at a proof of my own. Sort
of a way to pass the time instead being a couch potato. I know that over
the past three hundred years there have been tons of attempts at
algebraic solutions.

Here's a question for the history buffs: Has there been an approach that
uses difference equations? Here's an example, with n=2 I can write
3^2+4^2=5^2
8^2+6^2=10^2 which is interesting because it is a case of

(x+delta x)^n + (y+delta y)^n=(z+delta z)^n where delta y = delta z

Turns out you can write the delta's in terms of each other in all kinds
of funny ways. And then explicitly determine them in terms of x,y and z.
Even with n=2, it can be hard to get back to the base equation of
x^2+y^2=z^2. With the above example delta x = (y+x-z)(x-y)/(z-x).

Now, here's the really good one. Using delta z= delta y - delta x, you
form an equation which has z+y-x in the numerator which has to divide
into (x+y-z)^n - (x+y+z)^n -2^n z^n. It looks to me like it can't. But
that can't be right because then it would be a proof of FLT.

I have a complete paper, but it's in Microsoft Write format.

Any thoughts?

[Matthew P Wiener]

The only advice you need is "don't bother".
--
-Matthew P Wiener (wee...@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu)

[John D. Hope]

In <4gtuhi$k...@ixnews3.ix.netcom.com> James Harris

Any solution of x^p + y^p = z^p has only one solution p for any given
x,y,z so that anything applying to x,y,z for p=2 does not apply to
another x,y,z for p=n .

John

[Rick Decker]

Ooh, harsh! Got up on the wrong side of bed, did we? I'll give you
the benefit of the doubt and assume you've already written a polite
e-mail to the poster, explaining some of the things that are already
known in that area, providing a pointer or two, and ending up with
a nice word of encouragement.

There, I feel better already.

Regards,

Rick
-----------------------------------------------------
Rick Decker rde...@hamilton.edu
Department of Comp. Sci. 315-859-4785
Hamilton College
Clinton, NY 13323 = != == (!)
-----------------------------------------------------

[Matthew P Wiener]

In article <4gvasl$g...@itsmail1.hamilton.edu>, Rick Decker <rdecker@hamilton writes:
>wee...@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener) wrote:
>>The only advice you need is "don't bother".

>Ooh, harsh! Got up on the wrong side of bed, did we?

Hey, it's good advice.

[James Harris]

Posh indeed! Sometimes I wonder where the sense of adventure has gone
for you mathematics types. Isn't there any joy in math for it's own
sake?

Anyway, none of you folks noticed an error in my previous transmission,
but how could you?

I wrote that (x+y-z)^n - (x+y+z)^n -2^n z^n must be divisible by z+y-z

I should have written that (x+y-z)^n + (x+y+z)^n - 2^n z^n MUST be
divisible by z+y-x (or z+x-y) or FLT is proven.

So, here's a challenge weemba. Can you show the above based on the
information I gave in my original post? It only takes a page.

You say foolishness, I say you can't do it; although, all of the
necessary information is available.

[ORA ROYCE]

In <4gvahe$l...@ixnews5.ix.netcom.com> hope...@ix.netcom.com(John D.

Can you put it on the clipboard and then transfer it to email. I
can with my Microsoft Write. Or pick it up on WP6.0 and send it to the
clipboard and then transfer it from the clipboard to email.

I would like to see it.

Ora

[Hauke Reddmann]

Matthew P Wiener (wee...@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu) wrote:

: In article <4gvasl$g...@itsmail1.hamilton.edu>, Rick Decker <rdecker@hamilton writes:
: >wee...@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener) wrote:
: >>The only advice you need is "don't bother".

: >Ooh, harsh! Got up on the wrong side of bed, did we?

: Hey, it's good advice.

Well, doing FLT a little bit for fun won't hurt. But be warned,
number theory has a very high addictivity potential :-)
Doing it for life should indeed be left to the profis.
--
Hauke Reddmann <:-EX8
fc3...@math.uni-hamburg.de UP AGAIN! HOORAY!
fc3...@rzaixsrv1.rrz.uni-hamburg.de IF NOT
redd...@chemie.uni-hamburg.de SCIENCE ONLY