GIMPS should pay

[Vijay]

I think GIMPS should pay us for supporting and contributing our PC cycles to them,
maybe just £1 for every exponent checked.
That way we'll attract more people to join in the search.

[moo]

do you know how much that would cost..... are you insane 1 euro is like 1.7 us dollars, and since this is a non profit project then how would you expect the funding to happen....

[Mystwalker]

He uses pounds, so ~ $1.9

See it this way:
Currently, when you find a 10M+ digit prime, you'll get ~$50,000. The chance is ~1/250,000 per test.
So, in average, a 10M+ digit test already gives you $0.20...

[R.D. Silverman]

Originally Posted by Vijay

I think GIMPS should pay us for supporting and contributing our PC cycles to them,
maybe just £1 for every exponent checked.
That way we'll attract more people to join in the search.

I am *already* opposed to the prize money being offered.

Speaking just for myself, I believe that people who contribute CPU cycles
should do either because it is fun, or because they are interested in
pushing computing limits, but NOT for any monetary reward.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

I am *already* opposed to the prize money being offered.

Speaking just for myself, I believe that people who contribute CPU cycles
should do either because it is fun, or because they are interested in
pushing computing limits, but NOT for any monetary reward.

Speaking for myself:
a) dealing with prize money for factoring numbers has always given acute rectal discomfort.
b) either you, or I, or both of us needs to turn up our irony sensitivity a little.


Paul

[Zeta-Flux]

I like money, personally. I don't mind an added benefit to helping mankind by searching for primes. :) Besides, it helps me decide which of the many good programs I could run in the background would be the best use of power.

[ixfd64]

I think that we should be the ones paying GIMPS.

[Peter Nelson]

Originally Posted by ixfd64

I think that we should be the ones paying GIMPS.

..... From the above reasoning, on average, we are "paying GIMPS"

See prize rules. Although we get an average $0.20 each, the rest of the prize funds GIMPS, a charity of George's choice etc.

I'm not opposed to this, just pointing out a fact overlooked above.

Note we also pay through our increased electricity bills.

I agree that there is however, much that participants can get out of the project other than prize money.

[Spherical Cow]

The potential prize money is a useful explanation when trying to end conversations in which you're trying to get through to someone about why you're using all this computer time on what appears to them to be a fruitless, needless search. If they can't see the many fascinating aspects of number theory, then sometimes you just give up, and say "Hey, I might win $100K" (minus some adjustments...)

Norm

[R.D. Silverman]

Originally Posted by Spherical Cow

The potential prize money is a useful explanation when trying to end conversations in which you're trying to get through to someone about why you're using all this computer time on what appears to them to be a fruitless, needless search. If they can't see the many fascinating aspects of number theory, then sometimes you just give up, and say "Hey, I might win $100K" (minus some adjustments...)

Norm

Ultimately, everything that does not put a roof over our heads or food on the
table or keep us healthy is fruitless and needless.

Some other "fruitless and needless" activities:

Climbing Mt. Everest
mastering the balance beam
stuffing a ball through a hoop
studying poetry
religion (the most evil thing in all history, IMO. It should be illegal)

etc. etc.

I toss these thoughts out in order to ask a somewhat obvious question:

"There are many 'useless' activities that never seem to get questioned.
Why should mathematicians need to justify what we do to the uninformed?"

[Vijay]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

Ultimately, everything that does not put a roof over our heads or food on the
table or keep us healthy is fruitless and needless.

Some other "fruitless and needless" activities:

Climbing Mt. Everest
mastering the balance beam
stuffing a ball through a hoop
studying poetry
religion (the most evil thing in all history, IMO. It should be illegal)

etc. etc.

I toss these thoughts out in order to ask a somewhat obvious question:

"There are many 'useless' activities that never seem to get questioned.
Why should mathematicians need to justify what we do to the uninformed?"

Good point, Mathematicians set goals to do things which would be alien to some second non-mathematician and after archieving the goals, the gain is glory and the feeling of success.
Be it success of finding the next M prime or proving a mathematical statement.

However I strongly disagree with your view on religion ('the most evil thing in all history') that's just your point of view, most people will find this offensive, further more - 'It should be illegal' is just plain critism, unfair and completely absurd.
To think, I can just say - What's the point of doing abstract sciences (such as mathematics) when you can't actually explain it in plain terms to another person.

Come on now, you can't start going around saying religion should be illegal, your just trying to pick a fight again.

If I went to China for a holiday and start saying to the people there - Chinese people are gay and dumb! What would happen to me?