3 ms·

Very, very lovely. You might (or might not) also be familiar with the Ulam Spiral[1] or the arguably more beautiful Sacks Spiral[2], which do reveal certain pat

Very, very lovely. You might (or might not) also be familiar with the Ulam Spiral[1] or the arguably more beautiful Sacks Spiral[2], which do reveal certain patterns in the distribution of the primes. I used the software from this site[3] to generate a large Sacks spiral graphic, which I had custom-printed on my shower curtain. To most folks who see it, it's just some pattern of dots, but knowing the order within gives me great joy. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulam_spiral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulam_spiral [2] http://www.numberspiral.com http://www.numberspiral.com [3] http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~jhw/spirals/index.html http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~jhw/spirals/index.html

pudgereyem 14y ago
Thanks for the links. Math is awesome, and this kinda stuff really gets one going. No wonder some people (mathematicians) get hooked on prime numbers for the rest of their lives. It's beautiful.
lloeki 14y ago
Fantastic. Fig.5 from [2] (Sacks spiral) reminded me of light cones tipping over and pointing at the singularity as one enters a black hole. [0] http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/HPS_0410/chapters/black_holes/index.html#Forming http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/HPS_0410/chapters/bla... [1] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime-singularities/#GeoNatBlaHol http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime-singularities/#G...
Confusion 14y ago
which do reveal certain patterns Perceived patterns. If an actual pattern was known, you could generate prime numbers from the pattern. No such pattern is known to exist.
- palmtree3000 14y ago
  It's probabilistic, but there are patterns (lines with significantly greater prime densities than others).
- monochromatic 14y ago
  There are TONS of patterns in the primes.
  - Confusion 14y ago
    Name me a pattern that, from the primes below 100, can be used to extrapolate, with certainty, the first prime above 100.
    - monochromatic 14y ago
      That's an awfully restrictive definition of "pattern." For what it's worth, I'd say that more mathematics has been devoted to the study of patterns in the primes than to any other single topic.

pudgereyem 14y ago

Thanks for the links. Math is awesome, and this kinda stuff really gets one going. No wonder some people (mathematicians) get hooked on prime numbers for the rest of their lives. It's beautiful.

lloeki 14y ago

Fantastic. Fig.5 from [2] (Sacks spiral) reminded me of light cones tipping over and pointing at the singularity as one enters a black hole. [0] http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/HPS_0410/chapters/black_holes/index.html#Forming http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/HPS_0410/chapters/bla... [1] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime-singularities/#GeoNatBlaHol http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime-singularities/#G...

Confusion 14y ago

which do reveal certain patterns Perceived patterns. If an actual pattern was known, you could generate prime numbers from the pattern. No such pattern is known to exist.

palmtree3000 14y ago
It's probabilistic, but there are patterns (lines with significantly greater prime densities than others).
monochromatic 14y ago
There are TONS of patterns in the primes.
- Confusion 14y ago
  Name me a pattern that, from the primes below 100, can be used to extrapolate, with certainty, the first prime above 100.
  - monochromatic 14y ago
    That's an awfully restrictive definition of "pattern." For what it's worth, I'd say that more mathematics has been devoted to the study of patterns in the primes than to any other single topic.