> It seems that a brief glimpse of the denizens was enough for him.
On a somewhat related note, Andrew Wiles is the author of the foreword to the new 6th edition of Hardy & Wright's _An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers_ (2008). Wiles says, e.g., that he acquired a copy of the fourth edition (1960) of the book due to a suggestion by his high school math teacher. He actually uses the words "high school" which seems a bit odd as Wiles is English. Shouldn't he have said "comprehensive school" or perhaps "public school"? Where did he go to school? He also says that the book "became a starting point for ventures into the different branches of the subject" and that "it was always there as a starting point which I could return to whenever I was intrigued by a new piece of theory, sometimes years later." Regarding Fermat's Last Theorem, Wiles says: "Scouring the pages of the text for clues about the Fermat problem (I was already obsessed) I learned for the first time about the real breadth of number theory." This is all fairly interesting biographical information, as well as a big personal recommendation for the textbook.
> > It seems that a brief glimpse of the denizens was enough for him.
> On a somewhat related note, Andrew Wiles is the author > of the foreword to the new 6th edition of Hardy & Wright's > _An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers_ (2008). Wiles > says, e.g., that he acquired a copy of the fourth edition > (1960) of the book due to a suggestion by his high school > math teacher. He actually uses the words "high school" > which seems a bit odd as Wiles is English. Shouldn't he > have said "comprehensive school" or perhaps "public > school"? Where did he go to school?
Answering my own question, according to Wikipedia:
"Andrew Wiles was born in Cambridge, England in 1953 and attended King's College School, Cambridge (where his maths teacher, David Higginbottom first introduced Fermat's Last Theorem to him) and The Leys School, Cambridge; and earned his BA degree in 1974 after study at Merton College, Oxford, and a Ph.D. in 1980 after research at Clare College, Cambridge."
OK, is King's College School what is known in Britain as a "high school"? This is not the same meaning as "high school" in the U.S. or Canada. I take it "high school" in Britain is synonymous with "grammar school" which the Collins English Dictionary defines as "a state-maintained secondary school providing an education with an academic bias for children who are selected by the eleven-plus examination, teachers' reports, or other means". So is King's College School such a "high school" for pupils aged 11-18?
> Answering my own question, according to Wikipedia:
> "Andrew Wiles was born in Cambridge, England in 1953 > and attended King's College School, Cambridge > (where his maths teacher, David Higginbottom first > introduced Fermat's Last Theorem to him) and > The Leys School, Cambridge; and earned his BA degree > in 1974 after study at Merton College, Oxford, and a > Ph.D. in 1980 after research at Clare College, Cambridge."
> OK, is King's College School what is known in > Britain as a "high school"? This is not the > same meaning as "high school" in the U.S. > or Canada. I take it "high school" in Britain > is synonymous with "grammar school" which > the Collins English Dictionary defines as > "a state-maintained secondary school providing > an education with an academic bias for children > who are selected by the eleven-plus examination, > teachers' reports, or other means". So is > King's College School such a "high school" > for pupils aged 11-18?
The term "high school" is not used generically in England, but some schools specifically call themselves "high schools":
> In article > <dc26eb6e-40df-45fb-86af-a6f2b5cdd...@r66g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>, > Marko Amnell <marko_amn...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Answering my own question, according to Wikipedia:
> > "Andrew Wiles was born in Cambridge, England in 1953 > > and attended King's College School, Cambridge > > (where his maths teacher, David Higginbottom first > > introduced Fermat's Last Theorem to him) and > > The Leys School, Cambridge; and earned his BA degree > > in 1974 after study at Merton College, Oxford, and a > > Ph.D. in 1980 after research at Clare College, Cambridge."
> > OK, is King's College School what is known in > > Britain as a "high school"? This is not the > > same meaning as "high school" in the U.S. > > or Canada. I take it "high school" in Britain > > is synonymous with "grammar school" which > > the Collins English Dictionary defines as > > "a state-maintained secondary school providing > > an education with an academic bias for children > > who are selected by the eleven-plus examination, > > teachers' reports, or other means". So is > > King's College School such a "high school" > > for pupils aged 11-18?
> The term "high school" is not used generically in England, but some > schools specifically call themselves "high schools":
> A more likely explanation, though, is that Wiles has been living in the > US since something like 1982, and so has picked up some proper English. > :-)
That was my impression too when I first read the sentence, that Wiles had picked up American English. It's in fact the very first sentence of the foreword. This is what Wiles writes:
"I had the great good fortune to have a high school mathematics teacher who had studied number theory. At his suggestion I acquired a copy of the fourth edition of Hardy and Wright's marvellous book _An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers_."
If "high school" is not a generic term in England and, according to Wikipedia, Wiles did not attend any school that specifically calls itself a "high school" then Wiles must indeed be using the words "high school" in the American sense here.
> (The real test would be to see if he says "math" or "maths"...)
Alas, he only uses the word "mathematics" as he writes in a formal style.
> (The real test would be to see if he says "math" or "maths"...)
In Simon Singh's really excellent documentary "Fermat's Last Theorem" Wiles usually says "mathematics", except once when he says "math". He also says "zee squared" (rather than "zed").
> Does JSH have a brother named Archimedes Plutonium?
Probably the only crankish behaviour that JSH and Archie share is antipathy for Wiles. I guess they resent this imposter getting the glory that they deserve.
> > Does JSH have a brother named Archimedes Plutonium?
> Probably the only crankish behaviour that JSH and Archie share is > antipathy for Wiles. I guess they resent this imposter getting the > glory that they deserve.
