Hi all,
Mersenne mailing list readers were treated to unexpected sneak-peek
at the new Mersenne prime's exponent.
Science magazine heard of the discovery and contacted Scott and I.
Since Science magazine is one of the two most widely read science-oriented
magazines, we felt it would be a good opportunity. Because of longish
lead times in the magazine publishing industry, we took a calculated risk
and gave them a draft of the press release with the understanding that
specific details should be withheld until confirmation is
official. Unfortunately,
this did not happen.
This was an unintentional mistake for which the author has
sincerely apologized. The on-line article has been corrected. Fortunately,
word has not spread too widely and it seems this slip-up will not interfere
with an orderly announcement later this week.
Press coverage is always a "wild card". The quality and number of
news stories depend on many factors including the author's knowledge and
interest, editor's pen, space considerations, other news, time since last prime
found, whether an interesting "angle" can be promoted, etc.
M#35 got good coverage with the "PC bests supercomputer angle".
M#36 got swamped by Princess Diana's death. M#37 didn't make too big
a splash. M#38 got decent coverage because of the EFF award. M#39 -
time will tell.
I don't see any great reason to change our announcement policies.
The premature article on slashdot may even have been beneficial as
several reporters have contacted us rather than us having to go out and
drum up interest.
Have fun,
George
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