Mathematics: figuring how to figure (...or not)

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by happyuk (here)
One of my favourite anecdotes, occurred while Ramanujan was ill. GH Hardy happened to mention the number of his taxi (1729) that brought him to Ramanujan's residence as being quite a boring number. To which Ramanujan replied that 1729 was not a boring number at all: it was a very interesting one. He explained that it was the smallest number that could be expressed by the sum of two cubes in two different ways: 12 cubed + 1 cubed; or 9 cubed + 10 cubed both equalling 1729.

Yes, a delightful true story, also in the film. Hardy marveled that anyone could just happen to know such a thing. His Cambridge colleague John Littlewood, who's in the film as well, famously remarked prior to the incident that "every positive integer was one of Ramanujan's personal friends."

[Foxie Loxie]

Thanks for posting the film, Bill......truly amazing!!

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

I'm more of a words person than numbers, but I thought this was fascinating. I've never before seen the arithmetic technique of the Chinese girl on the right. They didn't teach this method when I was at school, and that's a shame. It's execution is both simple and elegant.

To understand how she did it, see under tweet.

https://x.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status...48139720561149

Method:
100-97=3
100-94=6
97-6=91
3x6=18
9118

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Mark (Star Mariner) (here)
Method:
100-97=3
100-94=6
97-6=91
3x6=18
9118

When Carl Gauss was a tiny kid at school in Germany back in the 1780s, his teacher gave the class an assignment which he figured would keep them occupied for half an hour or more. He told them to add up all the numbers from 1 to 100. Like: 1+2+3....+98+99+100.

Instantly, little Carl wrote the answer on his slate: 5050. His teacher scolded him for his insolence — until he realized that 5050 was correct.

What Carl had done was add up 1+100 (=101), 2+99 (=101), and so on, all in pairs, then multiplied 101 x 50, because there were 50 pairs like that.

Very simple — but Carl had worked it out on his own. With an IQ in the 200 range, Gauss would grow up to become one of the greatest mathematicians to have ever lived.

This fun conversation was had between scientists Alexander von Humboldt and Pierre Laplace, both Gauss's contemporaries.

Humboldt: “Who is the greatest mathematician in Germany?
Laplace: “Johann Pfaff.”
Humboldt: “But what about Gauss?”
Laplace: “Oh, Gauss is the greatest mathematician in the world."

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Amazing.

Context:
Aaryan Shukla, a 14-year-old math prodigy from Maharashtra, India, has amazed the world by setting a Guinness World Record for mentally adding 100 four-digit numbers in just 30.9 seconds. Known as the "Human Calculator," this teenage genius showcased his extraordinary mental agility during a competition in Dubai, where he broke six records in a single day. His lightning-fast calculations are a testament to years of practice and a natural talent that emerged when he was just six years old.

https://x.com/TheFigen_/status/1901691679171850578