Re: Did prime numbers evolve?

Lorentz wrote:
On Apr 11, 1:28 pm, dkomo <dkomo...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Yes, of course they did. Prime numbers are concepts in human brains,
and human brains obviously evolved. Prime numbers have no independent
existence outside of human minds. If humans went extinct, prime numbers

To expand on your thesis, the prime numbers would go extinct when
the insects that use them go extinct. Certain insects reach maturity
and swarm periodically. Concsider the seven year locust. Almost all of
them use a period of time equal to a prime number of years.
Why a prime number? Well, if they reach maturity at the same
time there will be too many of them available for predators to eat.
That is unless the predator swarms with a period equal to the number
of years divided by an integer. By swarming with a prime number
period, an insect minimizes it chance of being eaten.

This theory is a bit of a reach. Why doesn't the seven year locust
swarm with a period of three, five or eleven years? These are prime
numbers as well. And why don't the predators just swarm with a period
of one year, or of seven years if their existence is central to being
able to prey upon the locust. With a period of one year, the predators
could feast upon any insect species no matter what the prey species
period was.

Well, here we see prime numbers being a product of insect
evolution. The insects evolved a prime number before the humans did.
Therefore, the prime number will exist until the insects go extinct.


The insects have absolutely no awareness that they are swarming with a
prime number period, let alone that that prime number is part of an
infinite set of prime numbers with a common property. That's what makes
this different from the concept of "prime number" in the case of humans.
Besides, if there were no humans to observe that the insect swarm period
is a prime number, then who would? The insects themselves wouldn't be
cognizant of it.


--dkomo@xxxxxxxx


.

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