Primes distribution as creativity pattern

When researching on some complicated issue for transforming Word files into PDF format programmatically, I came across an interesting website: Project Euler. That site offers numerous mathematical problems for solving by means of computer programming. Many of them are about miscellaneous properties of prime numbers.

Leonard Euler was a Swiss mathematician who worked most of his scientific life in Russia. He has contributed a lot to mathematics and anybody who learned math somehow in the past would be able to recollect a thing or two related to that renown scientist. There are many discoveries made by him in the field of prime numbers as well.

Prime numbers is one of the most incomprehensible concepts in arithmetics. It defies intuition and, is a way, common sense too. Paul Erdos, probably most eccentric mathematician of all times, spent many years researching the topic and was so baffled by primes properties that he re-phrased Eistein's expression - maybe God does not roll dice in the Universe but something really strange is going on with prime numbers.

Best known property of primes is probably that there is infinite number of them among integers. The proof of that fact is a classic example of the approach called Reductio ad absurdum. This is when you pretend that there is a greatest prime number somewhere far away and disproving that by the ability to construct even greater prime. Another property is that there are primes separated by just one integer, like 3 and 5, or 41 and 43. They are referred to as twin primes. One of the biggest mysteries in math is whether or not there is an infinite number of those twin pairs.

But one particular attribute of primes plunges me into abyss of ultimate mental discomfort each time I think of it. It is distribution of them among other integers. It is proven logically, mathematically, beyond any doubt, that there are intervals of consecutive integers of any imaginable length that do not contain any primes. You can pick some unknown (but existent!) integer N and surely there is no primes between N and (N + 1000). Or N and (N + 1000000). An so on.

That curious feature led me to a weird analogy. Creativity as a process (at least as I am familiar with it) is highly irregular. Primes distribution is a good way to describe it - there can be extremely long periods with not even a hint for any creativity spark, almost endless intervals of mental drought. Then something comes up and I am able to accomplish a little bit, not necessarily terribly significant. Does infinity of primes can be anyhow hopeful consideration in that regard? Yes and no, as professional database administrators and software consultants love to say. Yes, because there is always a chance that any given fruitless period will end. No, because days of human life are very much limited by its nature unlike number of primes among integers. Despite those long primeless stretches, primes do have important ally on their side - infinity.

Twitter for revolutionaries

Today is May 1. A holiday of a sort, International Workers' Day. This holiday is traditionally loved and much celebrated by revolutionaries. Not technology or scientific revolutionaries (those folks usually quite indifferent to any kind of holidays) but traditional ones, those who rebel against social injustice no matter real or otherwise.

Times much changed since those days when paper leaflets were major conduit for propagation of revolutionary ideas. Technological marvels are seemingly fully employed for that purpose nowadays. And probably nothing else used for cause as heavily as Twitter. Sickle and hammer, red star or Boston tea if you will were unbelievably replaced by cute blue chirper.

Since Twitter was released two major social upheavals were reportedly organized with Twitter as communication medium. One is weird and not entirely understandable to me unrest in Moldova, tiny country sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. Masses there were trying to storm government buildings, twitting to each other operative information. The world remembers those events primarily due to Twitter's involvement than otherwise.

Second time Twitter's usage was noticed was during extremely complex situation in Iran, right after elections. Social protests there were emotional, widespread and bloody. I don't want to pretend I understand politics in that part of the world either. But I do remember reports that Twitter's usage was quite profound there with lots of counter-intelligence and false twits employed by government secret services in order to deceive protesters.

Hugo Chavez, Bolivarian Twitterist

Last week all major news companies readily reported that Hugo Chavez, well-known South American politician, set up a Twitter account. Mr. Chavez is a president of Venezuela, he portrays himself as Bolivarian revolutionary. He is also relentless critic of Unites States policy towards Latin America (and other places). His decision to have an account on Twitter was very surprising, moreover he himself characterized Twitter just couple of months ago as "tool of terror".

Things changed from those recent days. Not only Mr. Chavez acquired scores of followers (some put the number as high as 100 000) he also promotes Twitter. In an unusual way - he urged two other famous revolutionaries, Fidel Castro of Cuba and Evo Morales of Bolivia, to join him on Twitter. Whether they would decide to join or otherwise is not clear yet. But if they do, Twitter, a technological child of the country all three of men are or were in some state of standoff, would boast of being associated with most legendary revolutionaries and anti-americanists alive. That would be a globalization on the most grand scale possible, unimaginable point of co-existence of arch-nemeses.

One small detail though should be mentioned here. Mr. Chavez and Mr. Castro both known for being captivating and verbose orators. At the same time Twitter has limitation of 140 symbols per tweet. Chances are it might not be enough for them to express themselves fully via Twitter at its present state. Whether or not Twitter would consider tailoring its tweeting policies to accommodate revolutionary oratory is not entirely clear. But if they do I would be sorry once again for not being fluent in Spanish. As a kid I saw some old films where El Barbudo was giving revolutionary speeches. It was in a language I did not understand but absolutely mesmerizing nevertheless.