Australia Telescope National Facility

Magic Numbers

ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre

A talk by Jon Ables

The goal of the Magic Numbers Project has been to find a solution for
the problem of integer factorization. Present methods are little betterthan guessing. For very large numbers these methods are computationally infeasible. Integer factorization has been called the last unsolved problem of Arithmetic, but in recent years it has reached a prominence beyond academic mathematics. It lies at the core of the RSA encryption system, the only trusted encryption method remaining. Effectively all the worlds secure electronic information exchange (financial, diplomatic, military etc) use it. Fast factorization breaks the RSA code.

Two new radical methods that appear to come very close to solving the problem have been developed. I will speak publicly for the first time
about one of them. Nothing other than simple highschool algebra is required. Step by step I will take you to the point where the final answer is palpably close. An interesting life lies ahead for the first person to grasp it. Will one of you be that person?