> > Sorry if this contribution is "newbie-like" as I'm not an expert
> > in any kind of mathematical/analytical field, but... Just wanted
> > to mention that my Sedgewick algorithms book goes into a bit of
> > detail on why prime numbers should generate better distributed
> > hash values using the modulo operator than powers-of-two...
>
> Mathematically, that is true.  However, if you analyze the computational
> aspects, the impact is not obvious, as you are decreasing collisions at the
> cost of a more expensive hash generation algorithm.  I'm not saying that it
> definitely wouldn't pay off, but the answer is not obvious, and my belief is
> that there would be a small net loss.


Beliefs are fine, but if this is going to make a big difference either way in
ruby, wouldn't a *test* be warranted?