
Prime Number Visualization Simulation Spiral - gulbrandr
http://www.numbersimulation.com/
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PaperclipTaken
It's an interesting visualization, but it doesn't really seem to highlight
anything new about the way prime numbers are structured. It's difficult to
make connections between the spiral and the prime numbers, because the red
pieces don't generally stand out strongly against the white pieces (at least
not in any obvious pattern. There are cool things you can notice if you think
about it long enough, but you notice these things without the help from the
spiral too).

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happyglucky
Visualizations aren't meant to highlight anything new, but rather to bring to
light and visualize what is already known.

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jlarocco
I disagree with that. The entire point of data visualization is to highlight
patterns in data to make the data easier to understand. Highlighting what's
already known is a waste of time. A good visualization will help uncover
something new.

I feel bad saying this, because it probably took a lot of work to make, but
this prime number spiral is kind of pointless. What is it showing me? If I let
the painfully slow animation run for a while, and look at the bigger picture,
what insight will I gain about prime numbers? Probably nothing.

It's even a bit misleading, because to the best of my knowledge, there's no
connection between spirals and prime numbers.

If I'm just being dense and not getting it, I'd love for somebody to explain
it to me.

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happyglucky
"there's no connection between spirals and prime numbers"

You just shot yourself in the foot :( Yes, there is a connection. If you add
up the total distance each line makes in a tick, its equivalent to the
harmonic series, which is a special case of the zeta function. This is where
the spiral comes from. Its a dirct consequence of the fact that each number
has period 1/n. The spiral emerges naturally, its not programmed or forced
into that shape.

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jlarocco
If that's the concept the visualization was trying to get across, then it
failed pretty bad.

It may look neat, but it doesn't make any of those connections apparent.

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sabalaba
Another great visualization of the primes is the famous Ulam spiral:

[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Ulam_1.pn...](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Ulam_1.png)

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digitalboss
Nice job. - I would suggest re-labling the btm controls to say "Left/RIght for
Slower/Faster"

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kzahel
It's a very beautiful visualization. I particularly enjoy seeing the period of
each block correspond with the representative number. If only there were more
visualizations like this for other mathematical concepts!

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bjxrn
Here's another prime number circle/visualization:
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelpaukner/3977033600>

The creator of that one links to a Geocities page (which doesn't exist
anymore, of course), but I think that page probably moved here:
[http://www.magic-
squares.net/moreprimes.htm#A%20Prime%20Circ...](http://www.magic-
squares.net/moreprimes.htm#A%20Prime%20Circle)

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darklajid
I love it. And as sad as it is that I have to point this out specifically:
This site works awesome from this guy's couch on an Android device.

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FWeinb
A while ago I recreated the visualization of the Sieve of Eratosthenes from
Wikipedia (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_of_Eratosthenes>) in
Javascript: <http://codepen.io/FWeinb/full/tmwnf>

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fumar
I found this to be a great visual. I stared at it for quiet some time looking
for the patterns. I thought it would be cool to put some music to it...
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnHhRtHmiCc>

Edit: I will go back and fine tune the video so it syncs to the music.

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denzil_correa
Another Prime Number Pattern Visualization by Jason Davies which was posted on
HN sometime back.

<http://www.jasondavies.com/primos/>

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robbiep
I wasn't aware of this. Thank you. I understand better what people mean when
they say primes are fractal now

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kmm
Very cool! Too bad it's not possible to rewind though.

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ggchappell
It is possible. Hit the "backward" button at the top.

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kmm
Woah, that did not exist yet when I made my comment. Thanks.

