16.3 due December 3

1. I had some difficulty understanding the whole of section 16.3.1; I just couldn't really figure out what the author trying to convey. I also had some trouble understanding the example in 16.3 where factorials where introduced. I also didn't see how that related to the p-1 method and smooth factors and elliptic curves.
2. I did understand and found it cool the part where the reading noted that using elliptic curves to factor a composite number succeeds much more often than the p-1 method. I also just think is really cool that elliptic curves can be used to factor composite numbers. I wonder if it was a purposeful exploration of elliptic curves, or if one just happened to stumble on the fact that elliptic curves are effective in factoring numbers.