Adam Spencer: Why I fell in love with monster prime numbers

They’re millions of digits long, and it takes an army of mathematicians and machines to hunt them down — what’s not to love about monster primes? Adam Spencer, comedian and lifelong math geek, shares his passion for these odd numbers, and for the mysterious magic of math.

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ABOUT Adam Spencer

“Adam Spencer is the breakfast host on 702 ABC Sydney, the most listened-to talk show in Australia’s biggest and most competitive market but (or maybe because) in between the usual fare of weather, traffic and local politics he weaves a spell of science, mathematics and general nerdery. Really!

In a radio landscape dominated by shock jocks and morning zoos, he plays eclectic tunes, talks math, and never misses the chance to interview a Nobel Prize winner. Which is unsurprising once you find out that this former world debating champion had actually started on a PhD in Pure Mathematics before he began dabbling in improv comedy, which eventually led to his media career.

“Numbers,” he says, “are the musical notes with which the symphony of the universe is played.”

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