Have you ever heard of the Riemann hypothesis? Since 1859 it’s yet to be solved. The generalization of prime numbers (i.e. a function f(n) that yields the nth prime) would impact fields such as Navigation Systems and Traffic Management, Communication Systems and Satellite Communication (i.e. your Internet connection could become more efficient and faster), Astrophysics and Cosmology, Quantum Mechanics, AI and Machine Learning, E-commerce, Finances and Algorithmic Trading, among many other fields. (Yeah, it seems like nothing. /s)
Comment on New largest prime number discovered by former Nvidia software engineer
just_another_person@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
And this helps humanity and mathematicians by…nothing. It’s absolutely nothing.
dsilverz@thelemmy.club 14 hours ago
_bcron_@lemmy.world 15 hours 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
just_another_person@lemmy.world 15 hours 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.
_bcron_@lemmy.world 14 hours 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?
just_another_person@lemmy.world 14 hours 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.
SexualPolytope@lemmy.sdf.org 10 hours ago
If smart people thought like this, we won’t have cryptography.
secret300@lemmy.sdf.org 4 hours ago
All knowledge is good knowledge
secretlyaddictedtolinux@lemmy.world 7 hours 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.
InverseParallax@lemmy.world 15 hours 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!
just_another_person@lemmy.world 15 hours 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.
catloaf@lemm.ee 14 hours ago
They literally just told you. Prime numbers have applicability in cryptography.
just_another_person@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
And the highest degree of that is not used. So…
tyler@programming.dev 6 hours 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.
el_abuelo@programming.dev 4 hours 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.