New Number Systems Seek Their Lost Primes For centuries mathematicians tried to solve problems by adding new values to the usual numbers.

For centuries, mathematicians tried to solve problems by adding new values to the usual numbers. Now they’re investigating the unintended consequences of that tinkering.

The twin primes conjecture is one of the most important and difficult questions in mathematics. Two mathematicians have solved a parallel version of the problem for small number systems.

This suggests two distinct ‘number systems’ in the brain. Nieder was surprised, as he previously thought that there was only one mechanism.