> [ Joth Tupper explained] ...why we cannot stop in the "middle"
> of a Lucas-Lehmer test. The essential answer is that we
> know a property of particular terms in the sequence 4, 14, 192...
> given recursively by squaring and subtracting 2....
I understand this now, but I didnt when I first downloaded and
started GIMPS over a year ago, so heres a funny story
for you GIMPSers to add to your dumb-spike collection: {8^D
I downloaded GIMPS and started it thinking that it was doing
a brute force factorization and assuming it would stop as
soon as it found a factor. So my excitement built steadily
as it passed 50% finished, then 60%, etc, and by the time
it was in the 80s and still running, I was checking my computer
every hour or so, cheering wildly each time {8^D haaa ha haaa,
laughing maniacally, with my wife quite convinced I was going
crazier, and by the time I was in the mid 90s I was beside
myself, thinking I had perhaps nailed a mersenne prime on
my very first try, and (blush) actually calculating the probability
of this happening, etc. When my LL run hit 98 percent, I could
*not* stop watching the computer screen, nor did I dare actually
*use* the computer, expecting at any time a message like
"bzzzt. 2^3123929-1 has a factor of yakkity yak".
Since I am embarassing myself anyway, and recording a
stupid-spike story in a medium far more permanent than
any book or newspaper, I might as well admit that I stayed
up until 2 am, on a work night, to see if I had indeed hit the
jackpot on the very first try. When it hit 100% and reported:
"2^3123929-1 is not prime", well, imagine my dismay. {8-[ {8^D
Since then, I have learned all about the Lucas Lehmer algorithm,
reignited my 15-years-dormant love of number theory,
scanned the number theory websites and learned a ton of cool
math stuff. Im in nerdvana here. So, thanks George. How
about posting a picture of yourself so we can print it
out and frame it? {8^D spike
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