“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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I’ve heard it said that there are three kinds of mathematicians — those who can count and those who can’t.
That seems to be getting more and more true. It used to be by the time we left school we all had a basic knowledge of arithmetic. Enough to count our change and balance our check books. Sadly that is no longer the case.
For most of us that was as far as mathematics went. For others it led to algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus and even something they called advanced maths.
But what we all missed in school, no matter whether our knowledge was basic or advanced, was the fact that numbers can sometimes be beautiful, both in what they can do and the patterns they can make.
Here are a few examples below that I hope you find at least a little bit interesting.
But first a joke. It’s a oldie and involves my old friend Dubya, who for many years provided me with an endless source of amusement. Damn I miss him for that! Anyway, here’s the joke….
President Bush’s morning security briefing is wrapping up.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is concluding his part and says, “Finally, three Brazilian soldiers were killed yesterday near Baghdad.”
“OH MY GOD!” shrieks Bush, and he buries his head in his hands for a seemingly interminable 30 seconds.
Stunned at the unexpected display of emotion, the President’s staff sits speechless, not sure how to react.
Finally, Bush looks up and asks Rumsfeld,
“How many is a brazillion?”
Now for the beautiful numbers
3 x 37 = 111 and 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
6 x 37 = 222 and 2 + 2 + 2 = 6
9 x 37 = 333 and 3 + 3 + 3 = 9
12 x 37 = 444 and 4 + 4 + 4 = 12
15 x 37 = 555 and 5 + 5 + 5 = 15
18 x 37 = 666 and 6 + 6 + 6 = 18
21 x 37 = 777 and 7 + 7 + 7 = 21
24 x 37 = 888 and 8 + 8 + 8 = 24
27 x 37 = 999 and 9 + 9 + 9 = 27
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10 = 1111111111
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321
67 x 67 = 4489
667 x 667 = 444889
6667 x 6667 = 44448889
66667 x 66667 = 4444488889
666667 x 666667 = 444444888889
6666667 x 6666667 = 44444448888889
4 x 4 = 16
34 x 34 = 1156
334 x 334 = 111556
3334 x 3334 = 11115556
33334 x 33334 = 1111155556
A Truly Remarkable Number
Enter the number 999999 into your calculator, then divide it by seven.
The result will be a mysterious number!
Throw a die (or randomly pick a number from 1 to 6) and multiply the result by the mysterious number.
Arrange the digits of the product from lowest to highest from left to right to form a six-digit number.
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Intelligent Design
When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for
one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected
them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the Earth,
the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature’s God entitle them, a descent Respect to the Opinions of
Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the Separation.
Printed above is the first paragraph of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
Select any one of the first 20 words.
Count the letters and call that number “n”.
Move ahead “n” words, beginning with the word after your selected word.
When you reach that “nth” word, count its letters and move ahead as many words as the new letter count.
Continue in this manner, counting letters and moving ahead words, until you stop on a word that’s beyond the fourth line.
Do it as many times as you want, selecting a different word from the first 20 each time.
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