he's not thinking about math ...

... but I am. Today I heard some number cruncher on the radio say that multi-digit numbers are all related to 9. For instance, he asked the host which highway he took to work; to which the host said 15. He then demonstrated his reasoning using 15. (1 + 5 = 6) (15 - 6 = 9). Hmmm. Now anyone can add and subtract and divide and multiply to get whatever answer they want, so I tested his theory on other road numbers using the same mathematical approach.

11. (1 + 1 = 2) (11 - 2 = 9)
37. (3 + 7 = 10) (37 - 10 = 27) (2 + 7 = 9)
53. (5 + 3 = 8) (53 - 8 = 45) (4 + 5 = 9)
84. (8 + 4 = 12) (84 - 12 = 72) (7 + 2 = 9)
495. (4 + 9 + 5 = 18) (1 + 8 = 9)
684. (6 + 8 + 4 = 18) (1 + 8 = 9)

HMMMMM

So I went for something a little larger: 542,086,241.
(5 + 4 + 2 + 0 + 8 + 6 + 2 + 4 + 1 = 32)
(542,086,241 - 32 = 542,086,209)
(5 + 4 + 2 + 0 + 8 + 6 + 2 + 0 + 9 = 36)
(3 + 6 = 9)

YIKES!

For those of you still with me, take a wild guess what my favorite subject in school was. Yup, it was PE. But I really liked math, too. So for all you gym loving human calculators out there, I just thought I'd share something interesting.

September 28, 2005 / 6 comments

back
forward current archive rss/atom about

comments

Justin says:
since youre so bored... do this:

A ball is thrown into the air from the top of a building. Its height in feet after t seconds is given by:

h(t) = -16t^2 + 16t + 96

when does the ball hit the ground, whats its velocity, how tall is the building, and what is the greatest height the ball reaches?

have fun

Lara says:
It is so, SO nice to know i'm not the only one with numbers always running thru their head.....

Lara says:
... maybe i'm reaching for "nerd of the year award" here, but the number 9 in particular has always fascinated me. (did i just type that to the world?)

johnny says:
yea, you really did. i think we're gonna have to talk about this fascination when i get back.

Bri says:
No, you're not the only one, out in service I change house numbers and work them into calculations somehow...and my glasses are constantly falling down my nose...

Bri says:
Did I mention how excited I am that you're going to Paris today???? (I secretly loath you) (well, maybe not so secretly anymore)