> Its all fun and games until you think May 21st is the date the world will end.
... what? That has nothing to do with number theory.
> More seriously, numbers, and number theory, can be quite interesting and often leads to computational insight in algorithm computation or numerical solving. But ultimately, unless you're a numbers geek, it doesn't really teach anything.
There are a number [1] [2] [3] [4] of practical uses of number theory that do teach something. I've only listed the simplest uses with respect to cryptography, because those are the ones with which I am familiar, but I assure you, number theory is one of the more applied branches of mathematics.
Granted, some number theory has very few applications. But you won't ever find something practical if you're always asking "Is this practical? I better not look further if it isn't."
... what? That has nothing to do with number theory.
> More seriously, numbers, and number theory, can be quite interesting and often leads to computational insight in algorithm computation or numerical solving. But ultimately, unless you're a numbers geek, it doesn't really teach anything.
There are a number [1] [2] [3] [4] of practical uses of number theory that do teach something. I've only listed the simplest uses with respect to cryptography, because those are the ones with which I am familiar, but I assure you, number theory is one of the more applied branches of mathematics.
Granted, some number theory has very few applications. But you won't ever find something practical if you're always asking "Is this practical? I better not look further if it isn't."
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffie%E2%80%93Hellman_key_exch...
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Signature_Algorithm
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptic_curve_cryptography