3 ms·

This isn't journal article level stuff; if you are interested, pick up any undergraduate book on abstract algebra and start working through it.

• moomin 9y ago
  It’s also kind of irrelevant: what they’re called isn’t really the point.
  • coldtea 9y ago
    Actually it is relevant, since math is syntax and semantics. If we get the semantics wrong it's gibberish.
  • ginnungagap 9y ago
    What they are called might not be the point, but calling them prime in a context in which prime has a precise meaning while they are not can be confusing. Especially since the difference between prime and irreducible is subtle and it's the whole reason we have non unique factorization domains, which is the main topic of the article