Prime Introvert
You do talk to numbers, right? I know you do; it is not only me.
I always wanted to know how it would feel to be a prime. It is special to be prime, but do they know it? I am certain that they were not happy to be called odd in the beginning. Yes, they are certainly odd, except 2, but that’s not it. Oddness is, for sure, a trait, and it is not necessarily a bad thing. But, oddly, every other one is odd, so no one really cares. They needed something more than just being odd.
2 is bi-polar
As the leader of the even group, it divides every other number, and on top of that, it calls itself prime. That might be the reason why it walks around heads down with its humpback. I don’t feel connected to 2, so I rarely talk to it.
It must feel so good when the prime numbers figured out that they are not just odd. They are more than odd. It must feel so good after being called just odd for so long. Yes, no one can divide them! Such a strong trait for a number! Oh, come on, being divisible by 1 doesn’t count. Let’s be serious; that’s not really a division.
No one can divide us, only ourselves, because we are prime!
This slogan can go on a billboard next to a busy highway with neon lights. Or on a flying banner behind a propeller plane. Times Square, Vegas, at the top of every internet search result, or on the background of video calls. I am sure that they get together at least once a year and chant this: No one can divide us, only ourselves, because we are prime!
I wish I could have spoken to one of the prime numbers to hear the real story in all details. I wouldn’t pick 2 though — you know why! Yeah, yeah, you are the only even prime, we get it. I may choose to talk to 7, 13, or maybe 17. I don’t really know why, but I like them. Primes are rare, but not too rare. There are about a thousand of them in eight thousand. But, only a little over one percent in the first hundred million. It gets even rarer if you keep going deeper.
My wife exclaimed, “I didn’t know that you are such an introvert when we first met.” I wasn’t hiding anything. I wasn’t aware that I am odd. Maybe I am getting odder with age, and I am not noticing. Well, I was like this even when I was a kid, but there was only one word to describe the oddity back then, and that was “shy.” It is good that now there is a fancier word to describe it. The new label hasn’t changed anything in me, but at least my wife, now, knows that I am a little bit odd, but not special.
I do everything I can to honor prime numbers every day. I add a minute to the microwave timer, but I stop it at 37 to run it only for 23 seconds. 29 and 31 is another good combination for microwave heating. You can go all the way down to 7 to use 53 seconds, or for those of you who like a thriller, try 59 seconds. My TV volume is set to 7 when I listen to music. It goes up to 17 or 19 when there is a good game. When there is a number and if I am in charge, the dial must be at a prime. No exceptions.
Hey, by the way, prime numbers are also good at keeping secrets. There is no cryptography without prime numbers.
Be prime!
HD.
