There are so many amazing numbers and properties in math that it is frustrating to realize that the longer I live and the more I try to learn everything I can, I feel that I keep getting further and further away from my goal. I believe that not only is God a mathematician, He is a cruel and sardonic one. Still, I try to learn new stuff every day.
Not long ago, I learned that the square of every prime number (five or greater) can be expressed as one more than a multiple of 24. For example, 11-squared (121) is (5 x 24) +1. Or, 73-squared (5329) is (222 x 24) + 1. That’s crazy. There is no reason for that.
Did you know that if you subtract two three-digit numbers in which the digits are reversed (for example 721-127), the middle number of the answer will always be nine and the two outside numbers will always add up to nine. Try it; it’s freaky.
Just yesterday, I was focused on an old probability problem that, for a long time, was known simply as the Secretary Problem, but you probably know it as the Glastonbury Porta-Potty Problem. Actually, you probably don’t know it as such.
It’s one of the many places in math where the number 37 pops up. Or, more precisely, .37 or 37%. As you may know, 37 is a prime number (it has no factors other than 1 and itself). It is the 12th prime number and its opposite, 73, is the 21st prime number. This is the only place in math where this happens. The 73 is known as the Sheldon Prime, named for the fictional character Sheldon Cooper from “The Big Bang Theory,” who is known for wearing a T-shirt with that number on it.
The number 37 makes its appearances in many venues. Not long ago, some social scientists asked a large number of people to name any random number between 1 and 100. The most common response was 37, followed by 73, 7 and 77. (The least likely numbers to be chosen were numbers that ended with zero. I guess they’re not random enough in people’s minds.)
The number has strange mathematical properties. If you can find a three-digit number that is a multiple of 37, say 851 (37 x 23), you can shuffle the three digits around clockwise (518 or 185) and those numbers will also be perfect multiples of 37. Strange.
The sum of the squares of the first 37 prime numbers is divisible by 37. (Whoever figured that out had to have done so before the creation of the internet.)
Oh, here’s one: The body temperature of the average human being is 37 degrees Celsius. But, mostly the 37 comes in as the decimal .37, which is the value of 1/e, with e being the mathematical constant that shows up in compound interest and logarithms.
To help make sense of things in this increasingly absurd political world, I am instituting a new usage for the legendary 37%. Nearly every inhabitant of Fox News World spouts numerous things that are untrue every day. (Some do so every minute.) I’ve decided that if they actually believe more than 37% of the lies that they are telling, then they are absolute morons.
So, I was at the laundromat yesterday, having made the unfortunate trek in order to clean some items (throw rugs and the like) that The Boss won’t allow to be placed in the washer at home. While waiting for the stuff to get done, I was listening to the afternoon talker on Unhinged Radio. He was spewing his normal mix of half-truths and outright lies, doing his best to keep the Angry White People at just below a fever pitch.
I’ve been listening to the guy for quite a while now. I understand that it’s probably in his job description that he has to lie a certain amount to keep his job. But, he’s not a dumb guy, so I wonder how much of the stuff he says is stuff he actually believes. I wonder where he stands on the 37% platform.
He’s obviously being disingenuous when he uses the terms “Palestinians” and “Hamas” interchangeably. Anybody with half a brain (which leaves out some of the college protesters) knows that the portion of the Venn Diagram where the two intersect is relatively minuscule. The Palestinians are the people who live in Gaza; Hamas are the vile creatures who rape and murder and claim to be doing so in the name of the Palestinians.
That’s a critical distinction, but not one he’s willing to make publicly.
He knows he’s not telling the truth when he says that we’ve “got the worst economy ever!” Even if he went to a charter school, he must have heard of the Great Depression and the Great Recession. Inflation is still too high, but that’s just keeping the economy in the B-plus range instead of an A.
But how much of his nonsense does he truly believe? Does he really believe that Joe Biden is a criminal and that Donald Trump is not?
I’ll give you his 37% score next time, along with that of many other public figures who are poisoning the public discourse with their untruths. One person gets a zero while another gets 100. See if you can guess who.
