"Then when I reached college I realized that many people had thought about the problem during the 18th and 19th centuries and so I studied those methods"

Andrew Wiles was referring to his journey of finding a proof for Fermat's Last Theorem. He was a mathematics lover from a young age and also was determined to discover a remedy to the issue. When he got to college, he realized that lots of people had currently thought of the problem during the 18th as well as 19th centuries. This motivated him to study the techniques made use of by these mathematicians in order to get a much better understanding of the issue. He was able to make use of the understanding he gained from these mathematicians to at some point find a proof for Fermat's Last Theorem. This quote shows the significance of learning from the past in order to make progress in today.