Now hear this: My mathematics skills are limited to basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division - and even then, there's an even chance I won't get it right. Change the problem to apples vs. oranges or trains passing in the night, and well, you might as well be speaking ancient Greek. So it was with more than a little trepidation that I started this book, written by a guy with (gasp!) a Ph.D. in astrophysics.
Oh what the heck, I said, I sailed through Neil deGrasse Tyson's Astrophysics for People in a Hurry without sinking - how bad could this one be? As it turns out, not bad at all; in fact, it was so engrossing that I took my Kindle to bed to finish the last chapter and epilogue (for the record, something I never, ever do). The final verdict? Wow!
The very creative and clever story focuses on "Factor Man," who claims to have resolved the "number factoring" that's used to encrypt information on the Internet and what's called "God's algorithm." Making available these heretofore impossible solutions, it is believed, will allow those who know the code to solve virtually any problem known to humankind (as of 2017, when initial announcement of availability was made). The benefits for business and industry, the government and the future of the entire world may well lie in the applications made possible by this discovery simply because the implications and applications are unlimited - and, needless to say, highly coveted.
That is, if he's right. And if he is, the man who has gone to great lengths to remain anonymous until "FMCOP" (Factor Man Coming Out Party) stands to become the wealthiest human on the planet. So first, he's got to convince key people that he can do what he says he can. Assuming the answer is yes, his intent is to sell the code to the highest bidder - with some very interesting exceptions - then give it to the U.S. government and, ultimately, to anyone who wants it, free of charge. Initially, he reveals his plan to New York Times reporter William Burkett, explaining that he will factor increasingly higher numbers as evidence that his claims are for real; at a certain point, the numbers will reach the level currently considered unfactorable by experts. Factor Man will accept submissions at his blog at his discretion (the names of those whose suggestions are accepted are in and of themselves pretty doggone cool).
But of course, there's many a slip between cup and lip. The Chinese, who have been prohibited from bidding, are, shall we say, not happy. The only good Factor Man, they decide, is a dead Factor Man. But there's that pesky "anonymous" thing; before they can eliminate him, they must identify him. Meanwhile in the United States, the FBI has become quite interested in identifying him as well; they don't want to kill him, of course, but once they learn the Chinese are after him, they pull out all the stops to ensure that they find him first.
Sp the chase is on; and holy camoly, what a chase it is! Please note that as a mostly retired journalist who is on the whole proud of her spelling ability, I regrettably admit to not being sure how to spell "camoly." I've found it written as "comoly" and "cannoli" (the latter as in the popular Italian dessert), but I'll go with Urbanthesaurus.org's version above. In any event, what struck me most about this book is that I can't imagine what kind of mind could conjure up such a clever, well-thought-out plot - especially one that involves a subject that under normal circumstances is like a foreign language to me. It was amazing, thrilling, educational and, in spots, downright chuckle-producing. But most important to me besides loving it, math-challenged me "got" it. Many thanks to the author, who provided a review copy to me (via NetGalley). As I said in the second paragraph above, wow!
Factor Man by Matt Ginsberg (Zowie Press, March 2018); 281 pp.
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