[self-interest] Unlimited integer arithmetics?

[Randy Smith]

> 
> Do you thing that unlimited integer arithmetics is (from practical point of
> view) usable? Is not 64-bit integers good enough for every purpouses?
> 

Coincidentally, I just did a calculation a few weeks ago whose answer was 10 ^ 3200.

Further coincidence: a friend yesterday bragged to me about how great Mathematica 
is. Here is his note, sorry the context will be sensless to you but observe the 
numbers:

__________ included e-mail from my friend  ______________

Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 16:36:40 -0700
From: Raphael Rom <actual e-mail address deleted>
Subject: mathematica is wonderful
To: Randy Smith <Randall.Smith at Sun.COM>

I hjust spent 45 minutes with mathematica.  I managed to compute the 
actual and  approximated sums for N=1000 to N=20000
(20 digits accuray -- these numbers go to 10^-8000!).  The ratio 
real/approximation is 1+10^-7 , meaning we have a very simple and good 
approximation.

Raphi

___________________________________________________

...so sometimes numbers just get really really big. Annoying little devils.

 	--Randy