Frank Shoemaker would call this noise.
The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
81–90 of 119 posts
Re: The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
#82Fascinating story, but that article reads like the journalist took troll stories from 4c as sources. Seriously, whoever wrote this appears to be clueless. > "a robotic voice told them to find the prime numbers in the original image. By multiplying them together, the solvers found a new prime" Excuse me? > "TOR is an obscure routing network that allows anonymous access to the “darknet” — the vast, murky portion of the…
But how do you feel about the story itself? Lots of journalism has inaccuracies, but I'd rather know what you think about such a weird and intriguing phenomenon.
Most people here understand quite well that primes are not closed under multiplication, by definition, and it wasn't really central to the story. Neither was their weird understanding of Tor.
Re: The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
Excuse me? Is a Daily Telegraph writer, don't expect scientific literacy. I remember reading an article about Fred Hoyle, in a copy of the Telegraph that I found on a train, where they described him as a 'famous astrologer', so them not understanding what a prime number is doesn't really surprise me.
> Is a Daily Telegraph writer, don't expect scientific literacy. This is high-school math.
This is a little tangential, but this thread made me think of this:
> Well, Professors Kimball and Smith, welcome to journalism, where “bad at math” isn’t just a destructive idea — it’s a badge of honor. It’s your admission to the club. It’s woven into the very fabric of identity as a journalist.
http://www.niemanlab.org/2013/11/matt-waite-how-i-faced-my-f...
Re: The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
#84Whenever this comes up, I'm reminded of this series: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codename_Icarus http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301116/ Very popular with the teens in my family with fantasies of being whisked away 'cause they're just so damn smart.
I used to harbor similar fantasies (witness my username and the television series 'Pretender'). But you can't just put some supergenius 8-year-old in a special school and have 'em pop out with the diligence required to achieve great things early in adolescence.
That's sort of the basis of Plato's Republic, no?
Re: The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
#85Mostly it amuzes [and targets] people who feel a never ending desire to prove their own worth by taking tests, and going through ladders, games and rules imposed by others, presumably "smarter and more powerful". Someone has to say loudly "who gives a shit about this crap" and just move on.
It's mysterious. Rarely does one say this about js, or ruby.
https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/wat
You did say "rarely".
Re: The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
> > "TOR is an obscure routing network that allows anonymous access to the “darknet” — the vast, murky portion of the Internet that cannot be indexed by standard search engines. Estimated to be 5,000 times larger that the “surface” web, it’s in these recesses that you’ll find human-trafficking rings, black market drug markets and terrorist networks" > Sure... the "surface" web is just the tip of the iceberg, right? J…
Your wikipedia link would include my bank account as part of the deep web, since it's hidden behind a password login. Good to know I'm keeping company with human trafficking rings and terrorist networks.
from the wikipedia article
>> Private Web: sites that require registration and login (password-protected resources).
so, yeah.
Re: The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
> > "TOR is an obscure routing network that allows anonymous access to the “darknet” — the vast, murky portion of the Internet that cannot be indexed by standard search engines. Estimated to be 5,000 times larger that the “surface” web, it’s in these recesses that you’ll find human-trafficking rings, black market drug markets and terrorist networks" > Sure... the "surface" web is just the tip of the iceberg, right? J…
Your wikipedia link would include my bank account as part of the deep web, since it's hidden behind a password login. Good to know I'm keeping company with human trafficking rings and terrorist networks.
Yep, your bank account is definitely part of the deep web, a totally-mundane term easily conflated with what some call the 'dark web'.
Re: The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
#88Color me skeptical, but it seems like bullshit to me. The newspaper article has basically one source. The Wikipedia article dates from the day the newspaper article was published, and only has the article (and a reprint) as its sources. http://uncovering-cicada.wikia.com doesn't seem to have any activity from more than 6 days ago. I'm really not a cyber-sleuth like the guy in the story, but the first two pages of Goo…
BESU RETO DRIN KYOU ROVA LTIN E
Re: The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
Excuse me? Is a Daily Telegraph writer, don't expect scientific literacy. I remember reading an article about Fred Hoyle, in a copy of the Telegraph that I found on a train, where they described him as a 'famous astrologer', so them not understanding what a prime number is doesn't really surprise me.
> Is a Daily Telegraph writer, don't expect scientific literacy. This is high-school math.
I'm amazed when people can do a basic percentage calculation, never mind knowing what a prime number is...
Re: The Internet mystery that has the world baffled
#90This bares a striking resemblance to the DefCon Mystery Box and badge puzzles that Ryan Clarke (aka LosT/1o57) designed. Lots of crypto, hidden messages, esoteric references, ancient languages and symbols, quasi-mystical, etc. I don't know if he's behind it, but I wouldn't be surprised if he designed the puzzle(s).