IBM finds prime factors of 15

Filed under: Humor
11 Comments

According to a Reuters article, researchers at International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) have developed an advanced computer which has found the prime factors of the number 15. IBM claims that these factors are the numbers 3 and 5. No other computer this advanced has been built, so no one else can check IBM's work.

As noted in the article, "Previously the largest computer IBM had built was based on five atoms."

 

(I wonder if I should put the word "joke" at the top of entries that are intended to be funny. Experience has shown that my attempts at deadpan humor are often taken seriously.)

11 Responses to “IBM finds prime factors of 15”

  1. Anonymous

    wat are the factors ofb 15

  2. Anonymous

    HAHAHAHA…that was really funny.

  3. Anonymous

    (Laughing) Wow, I bet they should just replace THAT computer with a 4th grader’s brain!

  4. Anonymous

    what are the factors of 15

  5. Jed

    The joke has been largely ruined by the removal of the Reuters article in question. I just dug up another copy of the article; but in case that goes away too, the real point of the article was that IBM had developed a quantum computer that could be used to find prime factors (which has huge applications in cryptography and elsewhere).

  6. Anonymous

    WAT R THE FACTORS OF 15

  7. Anonymous

    I bet you a hundred dollars that if you didn’t put the “joke” reference in there. Half the people here that responded would have taken it seriously.

  8. Anonymous

    I dunno im a 5th grader….? Ummmm Oh! I know 1,3,5,15!!!! I better get an A on my homework,lol…

  9. Anonymous

    is 15 prime?

  10. Anonymous

    close your page down it is npo help to me at all!

  11. Jed

    I continue to be amazed and mildly amused by the ridiculousness of the comments this entry gets. My assumption is that either (a) kids come here for help with their homework (and they really aren’t paying much attention to what the entry actually says), or (b) people who know what the prime factors of 15 are come here to post jokes/trolling comments in hopes that someone will get riled up.

    Well, I’m not riled up, but the annoyance value of the comments has started to outweigh the humor value for me, so I’m closing comments on this page.

Comments are closed.