Strange magic

[Jamie D]

I am fascinated by numbers.  Rational, irrational, complex, imaginary - doesn't matter.

And how numbers work.  For me it is strange magic.  So let's talk about numbers.

Topic 1:  What the hell is a "googol"?  and what does it mean to me?

Simply put, a googol is a very large number.  Very large.     To whit ... 10¹⁰⁰ ... or ten to the hundredth power.

10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

(I counted all those zeros too!)

Interestingly, the name of this value came from a 9-year old boy named Milton.  Is suppose calling it a "Milton" was out of the question, and terrifically egotistical for a young boy.  (Though, I am still trying to find out who Avogadro was.)  Milton Sirotta's uncle was actually a mathematician of note, so Milton has become an important answer in any game of geek trivia.

It has no particular use, except perhaps in Scrabble.  But it does have a legacy.  When trying to think up a name for their new company, in 2006, the founders of the company mistakenly registered it as Google!  I guess they had the last laugh.

[Devlyn]

Better count 'em again! I just took one out. Maybe I didn't.  <running away>

[Kia]

I am fascinated by numbers.  Rational, irrational, complex, imaginary - doesn't matter.

And how numbers work.  For me it is strange magic.  So let's talk about numbers.

Topic 1:  What the hell is a "googol"?  and what does it mean to me?

Simply put, a googol is a very large number.  Very large.     To whit ... 10¹⁰⁰ ... or ten to the hundredth power.

10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

(I counted all those zeros too!)

Interestingly, the name of this value came from a 9-year old boy named Milton.  Is suppose calling it a "Milton" was out of the question, and terrifically egotistical for a young boy.  (Though, I am still trying to find out who Avogadro was.)  Milton Sirotta's uncle was actually a mathematician of note, so Milton has become an important answer in any game of geek trivia.

It has no particular use, except perhaps in Scrabble.  But it does have a legacy.  When trying to think up a name for their new company, in 2006, the founders of the company mistakenly registered it as Google!  I guess they had the last laugh.

They should have definitely called it a Milton, that would be great. Also 'googol' reminds me of the Russian writer Gogol, coincidence? probably.

Are you familiar with Vi Hart? She has some great youtube videos on wacky and strange maths

[Danielle Emmalee]

I am fascinated by numbers.  Rational, irrational, complex, imaginary - doesn't matter.

And how numbers work.  For me it is strange magic.  So let's talk about numbers.

Topic 1:  What the hell is a "googol"?  and what does it mean to me?

Simply put, a googol is a very large number.  Very large.     To whit ... 10¹⁰⁰ ... or ten to the hundredth power.

10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

(I counted all those zeros too!)

Interestingly, the name of this value came from a 9-year old boy named Milton.  Is suppose calling it a "Milton" was out of the question, and terrifically egotistical for a young boy.  (Though, I am still trying to find out who Avogadro was.)  Milton Sirotta's uncle was actually a mathematician of note, so Milton has become an important answer in any game of geek trivia.

It has no particular use, except perhaps in Scrabble.  But it does have a legacy.  When trying to think up a name for their new company, in 2006, the founders of the company mistakenly registered it as Google!  I guess they had the last laugh.

I like the googolplex, if you type it out in 1-point font and print it out it would fill up the observable universe 4*10⁶⁹ times.  Not to mention it would take almost a googol times the age of the universe to type it out.  But it can be simply written as 10^googol

[Jamie D]

They should have definitely called it a Milton, that would be great. Also 'googol' reminds me of the Russian writer Gogol, coincidence? probably.

Are you familiar with Vi Hart? She has some great youtube videos on wacky and strange maths

No I wasn't.  Thank you for the reference.  Perhaps we can post some of her stuff here.

[Jamie D]

I like the googolplex, if you type it out in 1-point font and print it out it would fill up the observable universe 4*10⁶⁹ times.  Not to mention it would take almost a googol times the age of the universe to type it out.  But it can be simply written as 10^googol

I must admit, I was not mentally prepared to take on the googolplex.  I am not still.

Instead, I will tackle a smaller number ...

[Jamie D]

🔗

Number nine, number nine, number nine ...

[Kia]

Why don't Youtube links show up on posts?

I'd like to post her Hexaflexagon video

Hexaflexagons - the Cthulhu of Shapes 🔗 [Link: youtube.com/watch/]

[Danielle Emmalee]

🔗

Number nine, number nine, number nine ...

I couldn't watch more than 20 seconds of that video it was creeping me out. 

[Jamie D]

In Base Ten, nine (9) is an absolutely magical digit.

If you take whole number multiples of nine and add the values of the digits, they add back up to nine.  For instance 9 x 3 = 27.  From 27, 2 + 7 = 9.   Or 9 x 11 = 99.   9 + 9 =18 and 1 +8 = 9.  Or 9 x 14 = 126.  1 + 2 + 6 = 9

So, quickly, is 10,863 a whole number multiple of 9??  You bet your bippy!  Try 10,836? or 1,638?  It boggle the minds.

Then we have the fractions.  When they are not a whole number, like 1.0000, when dividing by 9, you get a repeating result.
When the divisor is a single whole number, and the dividend is 9, the quotient is a repeating single digit fraction

1/9 = 0.1111...
4/9 = 0.4444...
and so on.

When the divisor is a two digit number, and the dividend is 99, then the quotient is a repeating two digit fraction

12/99 = 0.12121212...
56/99 = 0.56565656...
and so on.

Isn't this fun?  And I got to use "divisor," "dividend," and "quotient" in a sentence!

"Take this brother.  May it serve you well."

[Kia]

I totally get why some mathematicians go crazy

It's like that movie Pi 😮

[Jamie D]

Some do go bonkers!  Especially those who deal with game theory.

[Kia]

I really wish I was good with math. I want to be good at it but the maths and I just don't see eye to eye. I'm more of word girl, so thanks math heads 😀

[Danielle Emmalee]

I share your love of math.  I have several books on mathematical discoveries, oddities, and problems that have remained unsolved for a long time.  I find them just as enthralling as a great novel that I can't put down for hours at a time.

[Kia]

it's a shame that in school math is just so bland and mechanical, when there are those oddities and mysteries that are about as invigorating and awakening as an intense spiritual (or hallucinogenic) experience. Like some of these are so cool you just have to sit back for a second and reevaluate everything you've ever known

[Danielle Emmalee]

I share your love of math.  I have several books on mathematical discoveries, oddities, and problems that have remained unsolved for a long time.  I find them just as enthralling as a great novel that I can't put down for hours at a time.

This was, interestingly, my 700th post.  700 is the sum of four consecutive primes (167 + 173 + 179 + 181). It is a Harshad number, meaning that the it is divisible by the sum of its digits (7+0+0), also interesting that this is my 702nd post and that is also a Harshad number. 7+0+2=9 and by Jamie's post on the number 9, you can infer that 702 is divisible by 9.

[Kia]

yeah moments like that ^^

[Jamie D]

Fibonacci

Many of us are aware of Leonardo of Pisa, the famous Italian mathematician who lived in the late 1100's and 1200's.  Perhaps you have heard of the "Fibonacci Series."

Fibonacci introduced the Hindu-Arabic system of numbers to Europe, which replaced bersome Roman numerals and included zero!

His nickname come from that of his father, who was a renowned merchant of his day (so mathematics was an important subject to the family).  Leonardo's father was known as Guglielmo "Bonaccio".  The bonaccio part probably indicate that he was good-natured, but can also be construed to mean "dolt" or "oaf."  Leonardo was therefore, filius Bonacci, or the son of Bonaccio.

Following many years of travel and study, often related to trade, Fibonacci published Liber Abaci (Book of Calculation) in 1202, which included a section on modus Indorum (The methods of the Indians).  It was revolutionary in its day.  It also introduced his observations on what is now known as the "Fibonacci Series."

The series of numbers is described by the equation:

F_n = F_(n-1) + F_(n-2)

where the beginning seeds are 0 and 1.

The sequence therefore looks like this:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc.

The sequence is often expressed in nature.  Here are some examples:


The "Golden Spiral" as seen in a cross section of a Nautilus shell


Sunflower seeds - mathematical beauty


Aloe, a pine cone, Romanesco broccoli

Leonardo was rightly honored for his achievements.  He become known as Leonardo Pisano (of Pisa) and Leonardo Bigollo (the Traveller).  And Fibonacci may have, himself, enjoyed the "Bigollo" appellation, because it was was very similar to "bigollone," which meant dunce!

The the greatest of the medieval European mathematicians was the dunce who was the son of the dolt!

[Glitterfly]

Today I edited a post at 01:31:19 xD

[Jamie D]

Prime numbers!!  Idea time