A NEW, MORE FRUITFUL, DETERMINATION OF THE METRIC (DISTANCE) IN A SET OF FINITE SETS, AND A METRIC CRITERION FOR THE SIMPLICITY OF A NATURAL NUMBER

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a new, previously unknown, distance (i.e., a new metric) in a set whose elements are some other (any) finite sets. It is proved that with such a metric the set under consideration is a metric space. A direct relationship is established between this distance and the Hamming distance: it is exactly two times smaller than the Hamming distance and it is much easier to calculate it. As an application, the set of natural numbers is considered as a discrete metric space with a new metric introduced, and a new metric criterion for the simplicity of a natural number is established. This is the first metric criterion for the simplicity of a natural number in the history of mathematics.