9 ms·
Glad I actually read the article because I never would have known this: "The official discovery date is the day a human took note of the result. This is in kee
by jlewallen 11y ago
Glad I actually read the article because I never would have known this:
"The official discovery date is the day a human took note of the result. This is in keeping with tradition as M4253 is considered never to have been the largest known prime number because Hurwitz in 1961 read his computer printout backwards and saw M4423 was prime seconds before seeing that M4253 was also prime."
- NelsonMinar 11y agoAlso "Dr. Cooper's computer reported the prime in GIMPS on September 17, 2015 but it remained unnoticed until routine maintenance data-mined it." I'd have thought that BIG FLASHING LIGHTS would go off if a prime were reported. Maybe with CELEBRATORY KLAXONS.
- anonymfus 11y agoE-mail notification failed according to Professor Curtis Cooper in interview for Matt Parker's "Standup Math" youtube channel: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ozBnrd5Zc http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ozBnrd5Zc
- banku_brougham 11y agoSo if a mathematical fact is known by one person, "it is known."
- 1024core 11y agoThat's how existence proofs work.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- Eduard 11y agoI have seen aliens.
- jfoutz 11y agoAnd I'm sure you'll have no more trouble proving the existence of aliens than the fine mathematician who was the first to discover a fact. So, let's see your proof.
- crpatino 11y agoAs long as you are talking about mathematical aliens, as in mathematical objects that are so different from every other know mathematical object currently recognized in the corpus of Math. If you further claim that this objects are, like, sentient... I guess this would be too Pythagorean for my tastes. ;)
- dandelany 11y agoAnd if it's known by more than one person, it's "trivial" :)
- matthewrudy 11y agoTim Gowers' informal definition of "trivial" is: "when a proof springs to mind"