The twin prime conjecture—that infinitely many pairs of primes exist that are two apart—remains unproven, but mathematicians are convinced it is true based on a statistical random model of primes: if primes were generated randomly with observed density, twin primes would appear infinitely often by chance alone, like infinite monkeys producing results at a typewriter.
factualpending
Speaker
Terence TaoEvidence Quote
“Because of this statistical random model of the primes, we are absolutely convinced it's true. We know that if the primes were generated by flipping coins, we would just—by random chance like infinite monkeys at a typewriter—see twin primes appear over and over again.”
Created: 8/12/2026, 6:05:48 PM
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