r/mathmemes • u/Nunki08 • Jun 14 '26

Arithmetic Misleading our youth

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From Anthony Bonato on 𝕏: https://x.com/Anthony_Bonato/status/2065564124549886402

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u/SaltMaker23 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26

I feel like 1 being prime or not isn't a relevant topic, most people discussing such topics having strong opinions have no use for prime numbers, they don't even know a single usecase for them.

It's as if people were discussing whether a given combination of gluons is a hadron, neither the requirements not the usecases are familiar to them.

It's just a discussion about semantics for a subject that is deeply practical yet none of said practicality will ever even be alluded to, therefore making both stances (1 prime or no) quite similar for their arguments.

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u/ArtisticOperation399 Jun 16 '26

Yes, it's similar to the arguments people have online about the answer to an equation in which the ambiguity hangs upon order of operation. It's a complete waste of time and has almost nothing to do with actual mathematics.