From: Spike Jones (spike66@ibm.net)
Date: Sat May 15 1999 - 08:32:23 MDT
Michael Wiik wrote:
> What should my computer be doing in its spare time?
Until Thursday, both my computers were doing GIMPS. I decided
to split them between GIMPS and SETI. I calculated that the probability
of GIMPS finding a new prime (with more than a million decimal digits)
is about 68% before the end of the year. With my computers doing
about 118 P90 CPU hours per day, I figured my chances of winning
the $50,000 is about 1 in 4000 (altho the EFF prize was not the reason
I was doing GIMPS).
GIMPS does not slow down one's computer. It stays out of your
way. Ive been running it for about 10 months now, and it has never
caused problems. My early impression of SETI is that it does not
get out of your way as well as GIMPS, if you have it set to run
continuously. It makes some apps jerky.
The amount of CPU time currently wasted is truely mind boggling.
In deciding between the two, look beyond oneself and consider these
comparisons between SETI and GIMPS:
If you find the next megaprime, you, personally, will go down in
the mathematical history books (and be 50k richer), but the significance
to humankind is negligible. With SETI, the consequences of finding a
ET signal are incalculable. We know the next megaprime is out there,
and it is close at hand. With SETI we have no such reassurance.
On the other hand, the nondiscovery of ETI is perhaps just as
profound, for we get a new sense of how rare is intelligence.
Furthermore, every time we gaze into the starry night sky,
we can tell ourselves with a sweeping arm gesture:
aaaalllll of thaaaat... is ours. Lets go get it! All of it! spike
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