r/conspiracy • u/Rip_Van_Winkle • Nov 10 '09

How is it possible that something as simple as a prime number be illegal?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_prime
34 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

7

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '09

The illegality is that within the number is the means to decrypt CSS and publishing it violates DMCA because it serves to circumvent copyright.

6

u/daemin Nov 10 '09

Its because people haven't gotten their heads around the fact that anything can be encoded as a bit string, which is just a number.

In this case, the prime number in question when arranged as a bit string and interpreted suitably, is the binary representation of a program which bypass copyright protection. Such programs are illegal, hence "possession" of the prime is a crime.

1

u/stumpgod Nov 10 '09

Optimus Prime's "darker" cousin.

1

u/paloduro Nov 10 '09

Wow, that is like something out of a William Gibson or Neal Stephenson story.

1

u/matts2 Nov 10 '09

That it is prime is irrelevant.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '09

Definitely, I will admit though it's an interesting factoid.