At 05:22 PM 10/23/02 -0400, C. Garrison wrote: > I look at GIMPS' finding of large primes as an avenue of advancing the > concept of a Unified Theory for Mathematics - much like that which you > hear about in Physics.
Should everything that one does in life have to have a noble higher purpose? I stay in GIMPS because crunching on gigantic numbers has fascinated me ever since I discovered the subject in college, and I love it. The explanation stops there; I don't care if someone else believes I can do something more altruistic or worthy. I will never apologize for or qualify that which I love doing. Two more data points: The science editor of the Washington Post once lectured to the physics dept. at the U of MD College Park one day. In his opinion, the folks who tried (and failed) to get funding for the superconducting supercollider did it all wrong. They tried to emphasize all the good and useful technologies that would eventually come out of the project. Instead, he thought they just should have said "we need this thing to discover the secrets of the universe". Finally, when asked what possible use the newly discovered electromagnetic field could have, van Oersted reportedly answered "Madam, of what use is a newborn child?" jasonp _________________________________________________________________________ Unsubscribe & list info -- http://www.ndatech.com/mersenne/signup.htm Mersenne Prime FAQ -- http://www.tasam.com/~lrwiman/FAQ-mers
