Math: Twin Prime Conjecture

[figuer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsX-SjZXScA&feature=dir

I liked this video... I don't recall such an elementary concept being taught to me.

5,skip,7;...11,skip,13;...17,skip,19....ad infinitum...

[LeoM]

Sound interesting :D

[Smullyan-esque]

Occasionally I teach a class "Math for Elementary Teachers". The concept of Primes, and therefore Twin Primes, is something that is supposed to happen in grade 4 or grade 5. I also teach my students about Goldbach's Conjecture, and several other easily understood, easily taught Number Theory unsolved problems, and I ask them to pass them on to their students.

But the vast majority of Elementary teachers are over-worked, under-paid, and under-educated. So, unless a child is very lucky, chances are they won't get to see any of the fun stuff.

[peanutaxis]

Can any one explain to me the fascination with primes. I mean, to uncover them all you simply need an algorithm which attempts to divide a number by 2, 3, 4.... And, of course, that algorithm is next to useless. But I don't understand why anyone cares.

Surely there are many other crazy conditions we could invent and then give a name to the numbers which satisfy those conditions, and which are really hard to discover. What's so special about primes as opposed to other crazy conditions?

[figuer]

The concept of Primes, and therefore Twin Primes, is something that is supposed to happen in grade 4 or grade 5. The concepts of primes I remember form 2nd grade at least, it is the twin conjecture, which seems to have been overlooked.

[Theophage]

Can any one explain to me the fascination with primes. I mean, to uncover them all you simply need an algorithm which attempts to divide a number by 2, 3, 4.... And, of course, that algorithm is next to useless. But I don't understand why anyone cares.

Did you know that data encryption is based on primes? Particularly on the fact that it is very difficult to actually calculate prime factorizations, no matter how simple it seems to you? You should check it out...

[EricK]

Can any one explain to me the fascination with primes. I mean, to uncover them all you simply need an algorithm which attempts to divide a number by 2, 3, 4.... And, of course, that algorithm is next to useless. But I don't understand why anyone cares.

Surely there are many other crazy conditions we could invent and then give a name to the numbers which satisfy those conditions, and which are really hard to discover. What's so special about primes as opposed to other crazy conditions?

Ultimately what is special about primes is that every positive integer can be expressed as the product of primes in precisely one way. So they are the natural building blocks of the integers.