[QUOTE=10metreh;184088]Then why do you use the CWI postprocessing code for your NFS jobs????????????[/QUOTE]

I expect Bob has a pretty good idea of what the CWI code does (and has probably written similar himself at some point), but the CWI code is state of the art and he prefers to devote his limted coding time elsewhere. Don't confuse "choosing to not reinvent the wheel" with "lacking an understanding of how the wheel works".

"Blindly" is better illustrated by e.g. someone who runs Prime95 24/7 and thinks it "factors" the number under test in order to see if it's a Mersenne prime, or that running the LL test of 2[sup]p[/sup]-1 to n% of completion (0 < n < 100) actually yields information about the likelihood of 2[sup]p[/sup]-1 being prime.

(As to Bob's alleged rudeness, I hereby revoke my 5th commandment right against self-discrimination and stuff, and respectfully decline to comment .)

invoke!

[QUOTE=garo;184095]invoke![/QUOTE]

I've been informed by the kind folks at Grammar HQ about "numerous irregularities in [my] phrasing" of the 5th-amendment invocation, of which (junior grammarian 1st class) garo's is but one. ;)

[QUOTE=R.D. Silverman;184082]
You still haven't shown what, in the original thread, was offensive.[/QUOTE]

In post #2, I pointed out some ways in which the OP *may* have taken your comments and what you said as offensive. Admittedly, you were nicer in that thread than what I have experienced from you.

You mentioned in post #1 that the only thing the OP might find offensive was that he/she was corrected. That may well be correct. I am certainly not a professional mathematician, but at best I am an amateur (I am in the midst of publishing my first paper, so that's not much), and I exchange correspondence with professional mathematicians on a regular basis. Now, if any of them ever told me that I don't understand a subject well-enough or I am incorrect somewhere, I would most definitely [B]not[/B] take offense and work on this flaw in a heartbeat (because I know they are professionals and I'm not). However, in my opinion, I would most likely take offense (or at least have my ego hurt) if a non-professional blatantly and rather brusquely and impatiently pointed out my flaws.
Robert, do you remember the first time I posted on this forum, on the thread "Solve for the Mod Function"? I got extremely angry because you told me to go learn number theory. At the time, I didn't know you were a non-amateur (hell, six months ago I learned who Carl Pomerance was!). And, I am afraid, that the OP is not well-versed in the members of the mathematical community (judging from the weakness of his question). Thus, he would most likely take offense from your (helpful) comments that his wording was imprecise, etc. because he does not [B]know who you are[/B].

Regardless, my reference to your alleged rudeness was not necessarily drawn from the thread I linked to in post #2, but from the way I had noticed (in my short time here) your conduct with other forum-goers here in other threads over time. I can say that almost every professor I have conversed with (both east and west coast) has always treated me with respect, and even if I didn't understand the subject too well, they would very kindly tell me to read up on the subject. You did that in this thread, which I commend you on. But in other threads, I can't help but notice that you can be rude, extremely rude (although we all can be), but this is not an isolated incident. Perhaps you don't consider some of the things you say as rude, but others do. If you don't want people to not call you an asshole, then act in the same way you acted on this thread.

Look, I'm not trying to change you; if I was, then that would be a stupid action on my part. All I am doing is pointing out some flaws (or what I personally believe are flaws) in your character, which you frequently do to other forum-goers (pointing our mistakes in other people can either be constructive or destructive).
Personally, to be fair, I have temper problems as well. I've been rude to Uncwilly, xilman, 10metreh, davieddy, Mini-Geek, ewmayer, CRGreathouse, cheesehead, jasong, and other people as well. But, at least what I have been [B]trying[/B] to do is to improve who I am as a person, and ultimately improve my relations with other people.

I hope you don't take this post as a personal attack, but only as a helpful suggestion :smile:

[QUOTE=flouran;184103]If you don't want people to not call you an asshole, then act in the same way you acted on this thread.[/QUOTE]

That is a rather significant double negative.

[QUOTE=Brian-E;184084]...I have personally benefited from Dr Silverman's help here on this forum. I felt slightly silly afterwards because he roundly corrected me, but I was delighted to have my questions ... directly answered for free by a noted expert.[/QUOTE]

This is true for me too.

[QUOTE=flouran;184103]Look, I'm not trying to change you; if I was, then that would be a stupid action on my part. All I am doing is pointing out some flaws (or what I personally believe are flaws) in your character,:[/QUOTE]

Translation: The Big Bad professor insists on maintaining rigorous
academic standards. He is mean. I feel insulted. Boo Hoo, Boo Hoo.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;184092]I expect Bob has a pretty good idea of what the CWI code does (and has probably written similar himself at some point), but the CWI code is state of the art and he prefers to devote his limted coding time elsewhere. Don't confuse "choosing to not reinvent the wheel" with "lacking an understanding of how the wheel works".
[/QUOTE]

Indeed. At one time I had my own implementation for all of the pieces
of NFS; including the LA and final square root. I did not have the time
to optimize them. I simply use the CWI tools because they have been
extensively optimized.

I'd like to do an implementation of Block-Wiedemann. My real work
(and being a single parent) leaves me no time for it.

[QUOTE=R.D. Silverman;184205]Translation: The Big Bad professor insists on maintaining rigorous
academic standards. He is mean. I feel insulted. Boo Hoo, Boo Hoo.[/QUOTE]

As I recall, you don't have the proper credentials to be a professor. Don't get me wrong, you are a professional, but certainly not a professor.

Besides, your rudeness is not because of your maintenance of academic standards; there have been instances where you have made uncalled-for remarks (that had little to do with academics). Maintaining academic standards does [B]not[/B] necessarily imply that you have to be rude, it means you have to be strict. Strictness and rudeness [B]are not the same[/B].

[QUOTE=flouran;184216]As I recall, you don't have the proper credentials to be a professor. Don't get me wrong, you are a professional, but certainly not a professor.[/QUOTE][COLOR="Red"][B][SIZE="4"]DUCK![/SIZE][/B][/COLOR]
:flamewar:

[quote=R.D. Silverman;184205]Translation: The Big Bad professor insists on maintaining rigorous academic standards.[...][/quote]

I wanna play, too!

Rigorous academic standards are for autistic cowards, who don't have the balls to make outrageous hunches public. Take that, Big Bad Professor!