纪录片《费马最后的定理》 第08期 日本数学家登场

It looks so simple yet the complexity¹, especially arithmetic complexity, is immense.

它看来如此简单，然而其复杂性，尤其是几何复杂性，极大。

Every point on the doughnut is the solution to an equation.

甜甜圈上的每个点都是某个等式的解。

Andrew Walis now studied these elliptic equations and set aside his dream.

安德鲁·怀尔斯现正在研究这些椭圆等式，而将他的梦想置于一旁。

What he didn't realise was that on the other side of the world

他未意识到的是在地球的另一边，

elliptic curves and Fermat's last theorem were becoming inextricably linked.

椭圆曲线和费马最后定理不可避免地联系在了一起。

I entered the University of Tokyo in 1949 and that was four years after the War,

我于1949年进入东京大学，那是二战结束后四年，

but almost all professors were tired and the lectures were not inspiring.

但几乎所有的教授都精疲力竭，而且讲学也不吸引人。

Goro Shimura and his fellow students had to rely on each other for inspiration.

志村五郎和他的学生只能靠他们自己之间互相激励。

In particular, he formed a remarkable² partnership³ with a young man by the name of Utaka Taniyama.

尤其是，他与一个名为谷山丰的年轻人结成了非凡的伙伴关系。

That was when I became very close to Taniyama.

正是那时，我开始与谷山丰变得非常亲密

Taniyama was not a very careful person as a mathematician⁴.

作为一名数学家，谷山丰不是个很仔细的人。

He made a lot of mistakes, but he made mistakes in a good direction,

他犯了很多错，但他所犯的错大方向是对的，

and so eventually he got right answers and I tried to imitate him,

因此最终他得到了正确的答案，我尝试模仿他，

but I found out that it is very difficult to make good mistakes.

但我发现要犯“好的”错误是很难的。

1 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

2 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。