Euler commented"Mathematics have tried in vain to this day to discover some order in the sequence of prime numbers, and we have reason to believe that it is a mystery into which the mind will never penetrate"(Havil 2003,p.163). In a lecture, D.Zagier commented,"there are two facts about the distribution of prime numbers of which I hope to convince you so overwhelmingly that they will be permanently engraved in your hearts. The first is that, despite their simple definition & role as the building blocks of the natural numbers, the prime numbers grow like weeds among the natural numbers, seeming to obey no other law than that of chance, & nobody can predict where the next one will sprout. The 2nd fact is even more astonishing, for it states just the opposite: that the prime numbers exhibit stunning regularity, that there are laws governing their behaviour, & that they obey these laws with almost military precision.
Please add your thoughts - serious thinkers of chance.
2007-04-30
05:06:07
·
5 answers
·
asked by
Frederique C
3
in
Mathematics