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submitted 3 weeks ago by xkcdbot@lemmy.world to c/xkcd@lemmy.world

xkcd #3137: Cursed Number

Title text:

Another group of mathematicians is working to put an upper bound on the number, although everyone keeps begging them to stop.

Transcript:

Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com

Source: https://xkcd.com/3137/

explainxkcd for #3137

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[-] palordrolap@fedia.io 5 points 3 weeks ago

Felt like noodling a little with some numbers. I have a nice candidate. 22301. Pretty small, right? ~~It's prime.~~ That's not troubling to most anyone's sanity. Edit: one should check one's silly code more carefully before madly pretending to be mad on the Internet. It is not prime. But the intermediate numbers still are.

There's something that can be done to that number four times (but no more) which results in a prime each time and the fourth step results in a 70 digit number that I may have looked at slightly tOo LoNnNg.

Edit 2: Attempt at redemption for the math if not the joke: Start with 5497949 which is prime, and you can do the thing four times and get a prime each time. The last one has 108 digits and, no word of a lie, starts 6969...

Imaginary bonus points for guessing what the heck the operation / something is.b

[-] Audalin@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

But 22301 isn't prime? It's 29*769.

[-] palordrolap@fedia.io 4 points 3 weeks ago

Well, this is embarrassing. This is what I get for mathing after midnight.

[-] porl@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

The true number messed you up so much you can't recall it any more.

[-] badcommandorfilename@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

print(uuid())

[-] ripcord@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Sounds like the seed of an SCP.

[-] Big_Boss_77@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 3 weeks ago

SCP-2.6*10^21^

[-] tisktisk@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago

I'm confused, what is this new lower bound specifically?

[-] finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 weeks ago

The number that makes people go insane is bigger than 2.6*10^21^, or 2,600,000,000,000,000,000,000

[-] pressanykeynow@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Works as intended then.

[-] four@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

A moment of silence for all those who sacrificed themselves in the name of science

[-] ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

Actually, this isn't useful, so we still let it be called "math".

[-] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

Sounds like those stupid Rationalist cult groups who spend their time coming up with AI fantasies, and claim some thought-experiments are so powerful they'll ruin your mind - real immature stuff. Deserves to be lampooned like this.

this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2025
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