Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Vicomte13

You sure 1 isn't prime? It can only be divided by itself and, well, 1.


163 posted on 04/12/2006 6:52:16 PM PDT by Junior (Identical fecal matter, alternate diurnal period)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 162 | View Replies ]


To: Junior

The ancient Greeks regarded 1 as a prime.

Today it is not.

Mainly because a lot of important theorems would be false
if 1 were a prime.


164 posted on 04/12/2006 6:55:51 PM PDT by Allan (*-O)):~{>)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 163 | View Replies ]

To: Junior

Yeah, one's not prime.
A prime number, by definition, is a number that can only be divided by two numerals, itself, and one. One can only be divided by one, which means that there aren't two digits, so it falls out.

I find this definition especially irritating, because "prime" is a derivate from Latin meaning "one" or "first". So it's aesthetically displeasing, from a linguistic standpoint, that the number 1 should NOT be "prime". But it's not, according to the definition.


167 posted on 04/12/2006 7:49:46 PM PDT by Vicomte13 (Et alors?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 163 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson