Andrew Wiles

It's important to have a problem that you care about deeply.

Mathematics is a very human endeavor.

The final proof is a very complex argument, but the underlying idea is simple.

I don't work on problems that I don't find beautiful.

The challenge was to bridge two worlds of mathematics.

It's not the proof itself, but the mathematics that was created to achieve it.

You have to be prepared to spend a lot of time thinking about very hard things with no guarantee of success.

Fermat's Last Theorem was my childhood passion.

In a sense, I felt that I had to solve it.

The proof is not just a technical achievement; it's a conceptual one.

I think that the role of the individual is still very important in mathematics.

You are always building on the work of others.

The feeling of finally understanding something after a long struggle is indescribable.

It's a very solitary pursuit, but you are never really alone because you are in conversation with all the mathematicians who came before you.