Are Big Numbers Just a Concept of the Mind or Do They Truly Exist?

[selfAdjoint]

A computer doesn't need 10 base points for reference because it can assign prime numbers a value of 1 and transfer the value to 0. It keeps the functions simple.

This is nonsense. You need to study up on base representations AND prime numbers.

 

[ZeAsYn51]

Dear Gonzo

I agree with you but in a different way than you would want me to. I see and understand your argument, but I also see where you fall short in your examples. The brain has a failsafe mechanism that keeps at least some open memory, like a computer that is programmed to always have 10 GB of disk space on a 40 GB hard drive. The mechanism I speak of is dreams. Your brain cycles through unused information when you sleep, so that you would be very unlikely to use all of your mental capacity at anyone given time. I do agree that there is only so much a mind can hold, but arent there other ways to store memories? Photos, movies, drawings, etc. Big numbers exist, they are simply combinations of smaller numbers. 69 is just a 9 stuck onto the butt of 6. They don't have to represent anything. They don't have to be units of something. The only thing they need in order to exist is a system by which to string one number after another. That's why numbers are so beautiful, they only have to be seen in the mind or on the computer screen to exist. Nothing more, nothing less.