- #1
uranium_235
- 36
- 0
from: http://www.math.utah.edu/~cherk/puzzles.html
I am stumped, I noticed the pattern in the digits of the numbers, but I do not see how I can link that to the possibility of forming such a statement with those numbers when n is greater than 2.
Fermat, computers, and a smart boy
A computer scientist claims that he proved somehow that the Fermat theorem is correct for the following 3 numbers:
x=2233445566,
y=7788990011,
z=9988776655
He announces these 3 numbers and calls for a press conference where he is going to present the value of N (to show that
x^N + y^N = z^N
and that the guy from Princeton was wrong). As the press conference starts, a 10-years old boy raises his hand and says that the respectable scientist has made a mistake and the Fermat theorem cannot hold for those 3 numbers. The scientist checks his computer calculations and finds a bug.
How did the boy figure out that the scientist was wrong?
I am stumped, I noticed the pattern in the digits of the numbers, but I do not see how I can link that to the possibility of forming such a statement with those numbers when n is greater than 2.