Chapter 1, Pages 16-17

Problem 1.a This statement is a poorly phrased version of Fermat's last theorem. We know that we can find n > 2 for which ‚the equation holds. Fermat scribbled a note on a text margin indicating that he had found the solution for n = 2. Unfortunately, the proof died with him. Because the statement is phrased as a question‚ rather than a clearly defined algorithm, it lacks definiteness.

Problem 1.b This statement violates not only the rules of mathematics, but the criterion of effectiveness. We can compute only those things that are feasible, and division by zero is mathematically undefined.