[QUOTE=Xyzzy;335362][COLOR="White"].[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

I only have the central one... :surprised

Luigi

I know I'm responding to a really old thread, but I just found a couple articles about Curtis Cooper and I'm extremely impressed...and maybe a little jealous. Is it a fair assumption that his success in finding Mersenne primes is greatly aided by the amount of computing power he apparently has access to?

[QUOTE=piforbreakfast;561077]Is it a fair assumption that his success in finding Mersenne primes is greatly aided by the amount of computing power he apparently has access to?[/QUOTE]Of course.

Staring at tea leaves is fun depending on the tea but compute power is the main indicator for success.

[QUOTE=piforbreakfast;561077]I know I'm responding to a really old thread, but I just found a couple articles about Curtis Cooper and I'm extremely impressed...and maybe a little jealous. Is it a fair assumption that his success in finding Mersenne primes is greatly aided by the amount of computing power he apparently has access to?[/QUOTE]

Of course this is true, but luck plays a part also.
The last prime was found by Patrick Laroche on only his 4th try !

Read more here:

[URL="https://www.mersenne.org/primes/?press=M82589933"]https://www.mersenne.org/primes/?press=M82589933[/URL]

[QUOTE=tServo;561089]Of course this is true, but luck plays a part also.
The last prime was found by Patrick Laroche on only his 4th try !

Read more here:

[URL]https://www.mersenne.org/primes/?press=M82589933[/URL][/QUOTE]What Would Bierce's Devil's Dictionary say? Perhaps something like:
Luck: that name given to certain outcomes coincident with a blend of ignorance of statistical variation and superstition. It has the virtue of being brief.

Chance: acknowledgement of statistical variation, without the baggage of superstition that luck has.
(Intended as all in good fun. [URL]http://www.thedevilsdictionary.com/c.html[/URL] doesn't include chance or luck)

[QUOTE=kriesel;561091]What Would Bierce's Devil's Dictionary say? Perhaps something like:
Luck: that name given to certain outcomes coincident with a blend of ignorance of statistical variation and superstition. It has the virtue of being brief.

Chance: acknowledgement of statistical variation, without the baggage of superstition that luck has.
(Intended as all in good fun. [URL]http://www.thedevilsdictionary.com/c.html[/URL] doesn't include chance or luck)[/QUOTE]Ambrose Bierce's [u]The Devil's Dictionary[/u], does, however, include the following:

[b]PLAN,[/b] [i]v.t.[/i] To bother about the best method of accomplishing an accidental result.

[QUOTE=piforbreakfast;561077]I know I'm responding to a really old thread, but I just found a couple articles about Curtis Cooper and I'm extremely impressed...and maybe a little jealous. Is it a fair assumption that his success in finding Mersenne primes is greatly aided by the amount of computing power he apparently has access to?[/QUOTE]

Think of it like winning the lottery: Curtis would be the equivalent of someone who buys 400,000 tickets, but the lottery can still be won by that random guy who stops at the gas station and buys one ticket!

[QUOTE=tServo;561089]Of course this is true, but luck plays a part also.
The last prime was found by Patrick Laroche on only his 4th try !

Read more here:

[URL="https://www.mersenne.org/primes/?press=M82589933"]https://www.mersenne.org/primes/?press=M82589933[/URL][/QUOTE]

Wow. I can't help but feel a little jealous. I've been running GIMPS for over 20 years (at varying levels of hardware dedicated) and haven't found anything.

Oh well, I guess I can look at all of the numbers I've eliminated.

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;561099][B]PLAN,[/B] [I]v.t.[/I] To bother about the best method of accomplishing an accidental result.[/QUOTE]
It reminds me the old joke (somehow, the opposite idea):
Q: How do you make God laugh?
A: You tell him your plans for the future.

[QUOTE=LaurV;561152]It reminds me the old joke (somehow, the opposite idea):
Q: How do you make God laugh?
A: You tell him your plans for the future.[/QUOTE]

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."