![\"prime.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.randform.org\/blog\/wp-content\/2006\/12\/prime.jpg\")
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This post is related to an earlier randform post<\/a> of Tim about encryption<\/a> security.<\/p>\n I mentioned already the SETI@home<\/a> project. Another mentionable project of academic crowdsourcing<\/a> is the GIMPS <\/a> where some weeks ago the sofar largest known prime number<\/a> was found <\/a>. It has 9,8 million digits so I am not going to paste it in here. However this event makes me like to recommend a site I since long wanted to recommend.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The site I am talking of is called “music of the primes”<\/a>. The site gives an introduction to the mathematics of prime numbers and in particular on the Riemann Hypothesis.<\/a> The site is a collaborative work of the mathematician Marcus du Sautoy<\/a> and graphic designers from the Design Laboratory@Central Saint Martins<\/a> under the project management\/design of Shani Ram.<\/p>\n Among the mathematics-explanation-part the site hosts superb flash games<\/a> and promotes Marcus’ book: The music of the primes<\/a> and a primes toy which is a soundtoy<\/a> for primes (unfortuantely I had problems here with flash).<\/p>\n Marcus book is aimed at an also-nonmathematical audience<\/a>. It got a scathing critique in the S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung<\/a> by Ulrich K\u00fchne:<\/p>\n …Wer je den Verf\u00fchrungen der Schundliteratur erlegen ist, ganze N\u00e4chte lang Krimis und billige Trivialromane verschlungen hat, wird von du Sautoy begeistert sein….\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n (…”Those, who succumb to the seductions of trivial literature, who devour detective stories and dime novels, will be sold on du Sautoy”…). <\/p>\n