spotting new primes in v5?
 

This may seem like a stupid question.

In the current version of PrimeNet, the summary page shows the number of exponents cleared (factored composites, L-L tests, and double checks) since the last server synchronization. The text "Prime, UNVERIFIED" appears when a prime is reported to the server.

However, the [url=http://v5www.mersenne.org]v5 summary page[/url] doesn't seem to show this data. How are we going to see if new primes are reported once v5 replaces v4?

A very good question, but remember that the server hasn't synced between the two yet, so we don't really know if it has one but is just hidden right now because it knows of no unverified primes. Maybe it will appear under the P column in the correct exponent range (hey, I hope so, it'd make guessing a lot more precise :smile:).

[quote=ixfd64;140267]In the current version of PrimeNet, the summary page shows the number of exponents cleared (factored composites, L-L tests, and double checks) since the last server synchronization. The text "Prime, UNVERIFIED" appears when a prime is reported to the server.[/quote]... and this in turn triggers a frenzy of clue-hunting and speculation. (As in the current "Holy new Mersenne prime, Batman!" thread, not to mention Slashot and other sites)

[quote]However, the [URL="http://v5www.mersenne.org"]v5 summary page[/URL] doesn't seem to show this data. How are we going to see if new primes are reported once v5 replaces v4?[/quote]Well, maybe in v5 you [I]won't[/I] see that until [U]after the new prime has been verified[/U] by the group of people who currently keep quiet about it until the verification is completed. [B]This will solve the headache that small group currently has with all sorts of folks inquiring and speculating and trying to crack the secrecy![/B] And AFAIK that's the way it was before GIMPS -- no announcement until after verification.

As I wrote in the "Batman!" thread, the best way to keep a secret is to keep it secret, not to make a public announcement that the secret exists.

Well, speculating is part of the fun of discovering a new prime, though. :smile:

[quote=cheesehead;140341]... and this in turn triggers a frenzy of clue-hunting and speculation. (As in the current "Holy new Mersenne prime, Batman!" thread, not to mention Slashot and other sites)

Well, maybe in v5 you [I]won't[/I] see that until [U]after the new prime has been verified[/U] by the group of people who currently keep quiet about it until the verification is completed. [B]This will solve the headache that small group currently has with all sorts of folks inquiring and speculating and trying to crack the secrecy![/B] And AFAIK that's the way it was before GIMPS -- no announcement until after verification.[/quote]
They don't keep completely quiet. George is the one that posted 45th Mersenne Prime Found??? on mersenne.org and that's what /., etc. link to. If they don't want to post that, fine, just please don't keep us [I]completely [/I]in the dark.

[quote=ixfd64;140343]Well, speculating is part of the fun of discovering a new prime, though. :smile:[/quote]So, perhaps in v5, we lose fun, but they lose headache. Classical tradeoff.

[quote=Mini-Geek;140345]They don't keep completely quiet. George is the one that posted 45th Mersenne Prime Found??? on mersenne.org and that's what /., etc. link to.[/quote]But once v4 disappears, if v5 doesn't announce a prime before verification, then George will have no compulsion to do so on mersenne.org, either.

[quote]If they don't want to post that, fine, just please don't keep us [I]completely [/I]in the dark.[/quote]If you don't want to be kept in the dark, then ask to be added to the "inside" group that gets the notification e-mails from PrimeNet.

However, note that such a request is unlikely to be granted if:

(a) you have no special or useful qualification (not just mere curiosity and impatience), such as being a previous Mersenne discoverer or being able to materially contribute to the verification effort, or

(b) you have a previous history of openly complaining about the secrecy expected from that group's members.

[I]I[/I]'d love to be in that select group, but I have nothing to contribute to verification efforts, and am not already a Mersenne discoverer. Furthermore, I'd rather not have the emotional strain of keeping the secret. I can't let the secret slip if I don't know the secret in the first place!

I wouldn't want to join the insider's group. I find it much more interesting to not know and thus try to figure things out. Doing the puzzles is more fun than reading the answers.

Scott, any word on this?