Discoveries and Achievements

In the mid 17th century a French monk argued that “2 to the power 67 minus 1” is a prime number and his “theory” remained unchallenged for couple of centuries. In 1903, Over 250 years later, in one of the strangest “talk”' ever given, Cole, a mathematician presenting in a meeting for the American Mathematical Society, wrote on the blackboard: 2 to the power 67 - 1 = 147573952589676412927. Then he wrote 761838257287 and underneath it 193707721. Without speaking a word he multiplied the two numbers together to get 147573952589676412927 and sat down to applause from the audience. Cole later revealed that finding the factors had taken "three years of Sundays”. Lessons:

1) Time has changed and in “no time” computers can make the calculations!
2) Great discoveries and achievements require discipline and determination!
3) Don’t be surprised if your assumptions and “scientific theories” are proven wrong. In fact, to succeed you must challenge them

What we “think”, what we “know”, and what we “prove” are not always the same!