On Fri, Feb 26, 1999 at 09:25:16PM -0800, Spike Jones <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Earlier I posted the notion that Mersenne primes might be used to
> impress extraterrestrial civilizations. After thinking it thru, I think we
> can make a stronger arguement than that: Mersenne primes might
> be the *best* yardstick to *prove* a certain level of technological
> achievement, perhaps the most logical yardstick.
Of course, that yardstick measures both ways - it could also prove
technological inferiority... "They've only found the first 3000 2^n-1 primes?
Such slow creatures!" ;)
Bryan
--
Bryan Fullerton http://www.samurai.com/
Owner, Lead Consultant http://www.feh.net/
Samurai Consulting http://www.icomm.ca/
"No, we don't do seppuku." Can you feel the Ohmu call?
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