Comment on New largest prime number discovered by former Nvidia software engineer

just_another_person@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• InverseParallax@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  If we can analyze larger primes, we can generate larger primes which has applications in math, particularly cryptography and other areas, not even beginning to look at number theory.

  Oh, you mean you don’t understand it, gotcha.

  Yes, and Bayesian statistics are useless too, they’re all about things that have already happened!

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  • just_another_person@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    No. I understand it plenty. Quantifying shit to the Nth degree doesn’t fix anything. It makes math more precise, but math that will never be used for any practical applications.

    Please inform me about the ways this information and “breakthrough” will be used in a meaningful way that matters at all.

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    • catloaf@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      They literally just told you. Prime numbers have applicability in cryptography.

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      • just_another_person@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        And the highest degree of that is not used. So…

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    • tyler@programming.dev ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      They literally told you how it’s used for practical applications and you just ignored it. It makes cryptography stronger, hence your password less likely to be broken. National secrets less likely to be leaked. Your identity less likely to be stolen.

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      • el_abuelo@programming.dev ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        I wouldn’t bother arguing with this person. They’re either trolling or intentionally ignorant - either way, you will lose to their vast experience.

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    • WrenFeathers@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      math that will never be used for any practical applications.

      This HAS to be a troll.

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• _bcron_@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Does it need to? Does anything need to? I’d argue that humans toying with the novelty of ‘seemingly useless’ things has enriched humanity by a whole lot. Archmedes basically dicking around doing fuck all in that shed of his instead of growing crops

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  • just_another_person@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Yes. The amount of effort and resources used to do this shouldn’t just be a fucking waste.

    This is a fucking waste. Proper fucking waste.

    Nobody will use this math in our lifetime. Probably not the next generation either. We’re incapable of using it in any meaningful way except bragging rights.

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    • _bcron_@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Nobody will use this math in our lifetime.

      That’s a presumption. Have you ever considered that there’s a non-zero chance that you’re wrong?

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      • just_another_person@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        It’s not a presumption when there is no basis for it all. It’s a fucking fact.

        If there was a segment of society that said “Hey, we really want to do this thing, but we really just need the highest prime number possible! Why won’t anyone find that for us?” Then I’d say OK.

        You’ve got a guy out to beat a record and get his name on the books here. Useless.

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    • SexualPolytope@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      If smart people thought like this, we won’t have cryptography.

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• secret300@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  All knowledge is good knowledge

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• secretlyaddictedtolinux@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  @secretlyaddictedtolinux English1•

  Exactly! I don’t even see how there could be a benefit for me. If I don’t understand it, there’s no benefit. After all, I did take Algebra. We need to decide democratically what science is, with everyone getting a fair vote, so wasteful science like this can f

  Finally! Someone who understands! If it’s not something we can understand, it’s not really math.

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