>From: Spike Jones <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Mersenne: searching the biggies
>Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 19:49:36 -0800
>
>Nathan Russell asked: How much are the people who are trying to
>find a 10 million digit prime contributing to the search?
>
>Any machine that is running GIMPS is contributing to mapping
>the great universal math-space. If one is factoring, double checking,
>finding a slew of Mersenne composites (I know 30 now), searching
>for 10E7s, regardless, any way you look at it, you are on the team.
>If we use the orderly system George and Scott have created, we are
>uncovering information that cannot be found any other way, information
>which will be our gift to humanity for all time. spike
I couldn't have said it better.
That is precisely why I switched to GIMPS from another project whose sole
purpose was to, at the cost of something like ten times our computing power
for triple our expected time to next prime, simply recover a cute little,
probably political, saying that someone had hidden. And, did I mention,
provide PR for the large sponsoring corporation at the same time.
Our work remaining is infinite, theirs might as well be.
Two of their other projects lost GIMPS-years of work each because of stupid
bugs and I got fed up and left.
I will not identify my previous project; it's had enough press already
because some find that its rather repetitive results further their political
goals. I happen to agree with those goals, but I will no longer support the
effort because it is, to be blunt, accomplishing nothing.
This may seem like flamebait, and I do not intend it that way. If anyone
wishes to disagree with me, on- or off-list, feel free to do so.
Nathan
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
_________________________________________________________________
Unsubscribe & list info -- http://www.scruz.net/~luke/signup.htm
Mersenne Prime FAQ -- http://www.tasam.com/~lrwiman/FAQ-mers
