[extropy-chat] new mersenne prime?

[Damien Broderick]

At 07:47 PM 12/23/2005 -0800, spike wrote:

>The
>CIA would need to have you slain to keep you from
>talking, and then have me slain in case you shared
>with me the formula before you perished.

I have it on good authority that this is exactly what happened to Evariste 
Galois, who was slain in the Prime of life.

(A less reliable rumor has it that as the young mathematician's precious 
bodily fluids drained into the muck, Galois whispered imploringly to his 
killer, "Why? For the love of God and reason, *why*?" His assailant watched 
him dying for a long moment, then scabbarded his blade. "Evariste," he 
said, with a Gallic shrug, "it's simple--*because you were there*.")

Damien Broderick