3 ms·

This title really needs "Mersenne" in it, because for just "primes" the answer is trivially "no".

Dylan16807 2y ago
They're not talking about the next time we find a prime, but they're also not talking about the next time we find a Mersenne prime. They're talking about the next time we find a largest known prime. Mersenne or not. So while the title could be clearer, adding the word "Mersenne" would imply the wrong thing. While it's true that the next record will probably be Mersenne, the next Mersenne might not be a record.
- TheRealPomax 2y ago
  Or we can just, you know, read the page. Step 1: Claim your chunk of the fresh new Mersenne Prime which sure seems to suggest we're talking specifically about Mersenne primes. And then we keep reading, and it ends with: None of us can do it alone, but together we can achieve pointless, nerdy things. That is, unless... the folks at Mersenne.org find a new, even bigger Mersenne prime before we can do this. Which sure reinforces that this is about the Mersenne prime hunt, not just "any prime sequence". But why stop there? We could just watch the actual video.
  - Dylan16807 2y ago
    > which sure seems to suggest we're talking specifically about Mersenne primes Primes with an s? No, that sentence is about the single prime that was just found, which happens to be Mersenne. > That is, unless... the folks at Mersenne.org find a new, even bigger Mersenne prime before we can do this. Because that's by far the most likely source for the next time we find a biggest prime. If we found one another way, I don't think they'd treat it any differently. And importantly they said "even bigger". We very likely have a lot of not-bigger Mersenne primes to find. But that wouldn't interrupt the project. > Which sure reinforces that this is about the Mersenne prime hunt, not just "any prime sequence". But why stop there? We could just watch the actual video. "Could humans say the largest prime number known to us before we find the next one?" sounds like exactly what I'm saying, not what you're saying.

They're not talking about the next time we find a prime, but they're also not talking about the next time we find a Mersenne prime. They're talking about the next time we find a largest known prime. Mersenne or not. So while the title could be clearer, adding the word "Mersenne" would imply the wrong thing. While it's true that the next record will probably be Mersenne, the next Mersenne might not be a record.

TheRealPomax 2y ago
Or we can just, you know, read the page. Step 1: Claim your chunk of the fresh new Mersenne Prime which sure seems to suggest we're talking specifically about Mersenne primes. And then we keep reading, and it ends with: None of us can do it alone, but together we can achieve pointless, nerdy things. That is, unless... the folks at Mersenne.org find a new, even bigger Mersenne prime before we can do this. Which sure reinforces that this is about the Mersenne prime hunt, not just "any prime sequence". But why stop there? We could just watch the actual video.
- Dylan16807 2y ago
  > which sure seems to suggest we're talking specifically about Mersenne primes Primes with an s? No, that sentence is about the single prime that was just found, which happens to be Mersenne. > That is, unless... the folks at Mersenne.org find a new, even bigger Mersenne prime before we can do this. Because that's by far the most likely source for the next time we find a biggest prime. If we found one another way, I don't think they'd treat it any differently. And importantly they said "even bigger". We very likely have a lot of not-bigger Mersenne primes to find. But that wouldn't interrupt the project. > Which sure reinforces that this is about the Mersenne prime hunt, not just "any prime sequence". But why stop there? We could just watch the actual video. "Could humans say the largest prime number known to us before we find the next one?" sounds like exactly what I'm saying, not what you're saying.