DORA MUSIELAK, Research Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, will deliver the tenth talk of the CSHPM Online Colloquium series.

DATE: January 15th
TIME: UTC 19:00; Vancouver 11:00; Edmonton 12:00; Regina/Winnipeg 13:00; Montreal/Toronto 14:00; Halifax 15:00; St. John's 15:30

TITLE: Prime Mystery: Sophie Germain and Fermat's Last Theorem
ABSTRACT: Euler wrote to Goldbach on 4 August 1753 that he had proved Fermat's (last) theorem in the case n=3, observing that the proof seemed very different from the proof for the case n=4, and that a proof of the general case still seemed remote. In 1804, Sophie Germain wrote to Gauss, stating that she could "prove that x^n+y^n=z^n is impossible if n=p-1, where p is a prime of form 8k+7." Gauss was silent in the matter. However, Legendre paid attention to Germain's unique approach to prove Fermat's theorem, distinctively different from Euler's. Twenty years later, Legendre added Germain's theorem to his indeterminate analysis particularly focused on Fermat's theorem, in a memoir which became the second supplement to Legendre's *Théorie des Nombres*. In this talk, I will present the history and the enigmas that surround this crucial aspect of Sophie Germain's contribution to mathematics.

The Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (http://www.cshpm.org/) invites members as well as the broader scholarly community to the next talk in our online colloquium series via Zoom. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. Non-members can get regular updates on our activities by liking us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm). The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A.

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Topic: CSHPM Online Colloquium: Dora Musielak
Time: Jan 15, 2021 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
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