In 1938, Samuel Isaac Krieger of Chicago claimed he had disproved Fermat’s last theorem. He said he’d found a positive integer greater than 2 for which 1324n + 731n = 1961n was true — but he refused to disclose it.
A New York Times reporter quickly showed that Krieger must be mistaken. How?
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SelectClick for Answer |
1324 raised to any power must end in 6 or 4; and the other two numbers raised to any power must end in 1. Thus Krieger’s numbers can’t add up no matter what value n takes.
“You mean that you doubt me?” Krieger asked the reporter. “Well, when the time comes, I will explain everything.” So far as I can tell, he was never heard from again.
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