"Maybe" stupid questions
 

I've wanted to ask these questions for some time now, but was hesitant to ask.

[LIST=1][*]What is the David Hasselhoff thread at the bottom of the forum?[*]I understand the reasoning behind Mersenne Primes and Fermat factors (I work on both of these). But what is the reasoning behind other factoring projects (like k*2^n-1)?[*]Maybe someone who is English can correct me (English not my home language). When looking at the status of a particular exponent, it says "Factored" and gives the factors already found, and indicates that the remaining factor is not probable prime. Doesn't factored mean exponent completely factored?[/LIST]

[QUOTE=houding;389746]What is the David Hasselhoff thread at the bottom of the forum?[/QUOTE]
I'm guessing it's the supermods' private forum to discuss supermod stuff.
[QUOTE=houding;389746]I understand the reasoning behind Mersenne Primes and Fermat factors (I work on both of these). But what is the reasoning behind other factoring projects (like k*2^n-1)?[/QUOTE]
The same reasons (curiosity, advancing mathematics, etc.), just on slightly less notable numbers.
[QUOTE=houding;389746]Maybe someone who is English can correct me (English not my home language). When looking at the status of a particular exponent, it says "Factored" and gives the factors already found, and indicates that the remaining factor is not probable prime. Doesn't factored mean exponent completely factored?[/QUOTE]
I'd say that [I]factored[/I] usually means [I]completely factored[/I], but in the context, it only means [I]at least one factor is known[/I] or (equivalently) [I]eliminated from primality testing due to a discovered factor[/I].

[QUOTE=houding;389746][*]What is the David Hasselhoff thread at the bottom of the forum?
[/QUOTE]For those who understand, no explanation is necessary.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Who is David Hasselhoff?

[QUOTE=BudgieJane;389783]Who is David Hasselhoff?[/QUOTE]I refer the Honourable Member to my previous answer.

[QUOTE=BudgieJane;389783]Who is David Hasselhoff?[/QUOTE]

2[sup]John Galt[/sup] - 1

[QUOTE=BudgieJane;389783]Who is David Hasselhoff?[/QUOTE]
Shame on you, you got a ban for this question :razz: (luckily for you, Xyzzy didn't see it! Yet...)

(we live good times, I remember there was a time when all references to Da...that person were substituted with "the Big Spider" or "Gray Elephant" or so...)