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Greetings!
My name is David E. Sanders.
My interest in primes dates back to grade school
(many, many years ago).
I am interested in them for their own sake, and
not for any applications.
My formal mathematics
training extends to the first year of college calculus,
plus some statistics, but I have no formal training in number
theory.
Mersenne primes are especially interesting to
me. Just through simple
observation I found the relationship
If p is a prime, then p evenly divides 2^(p-1)-1
But I cannot formally prove this.
On the other hand, I can prove the assertion
that
For any n=composite number, 2^n-1 is not prime.
Much of my study has been based on these two
ideas.
But I think it is now time to learn the more technical,
detailed, and formal
stuff in prime number theory, especially for Mersenne
primes. I am
currently reviewing the material at http://primes.utm.edu/glossary/.
David E. Sanders
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