[coraltime]

Fermat could have been mistaken about his proof, however.

[nyc111]

That's a possibility. But I still think there must be a more direct proof. A shorter proof that can be understood by anyone who is familiar with Euclid. I believe a proof by using only mathematical methods known to Fermat must be possible.

[Retra]

You can make any proof as short as you want. Length of proof means almost nothing; it is a function of the language you choose to use.

[nyc111]

> You can make any proof as short as you want.

If so why did Wiley choose to write a 200 page proof while he could have stated it in one sentence?

[Retra]

Because he was writing for a specific class of predetermined parsers, rather than an arbitrary one which was optimized for his proof.