|
|
Alessandro Scotti Loyal user Italy 263 Posts |
Ok, this is one I have had in mind for a while. Given the sequence:
733 2583 47336 935569 can you tell which of the following belongs to it? a) 6243682 b) 7534448 c) 2668765 Hint: you don't need a calculator for this!
Walk of Mind: the best source of bad magic
|
Nir Dahan Inner circle Munich, Germany 1390 Posts |
I know you are looking for a specific answer but I can prove to you that any number I name is equally good.
You can always create a polynomial that passes through a finite number of points. Sorry for this lousy answer. Nir |
Alessandro Scotti Loyal user Italy 263 Posts |
I guess one could always use finite differences and "reverse engineer" the polynomial that generates the sequence, and this could be quite funny actually! BUT... you would definitely need a calculator!
Here is a second hint: you don't need a calculator, but there is another VERY COMMON object that would be quite handy to solve this.
Walk of Mind: the best source of bad magic
|
magicgeorge Inner circle Belfast 4299 Posts |
That's not such a lousy answer, Nir, quite thought provoking. Is it actually proven that there is always a polynomial for a finite number of random numbers?
Anyhow, I wouldn't be able to work backwards to find it even with a calculator. Is the common object a calendar? Are the numbers just numbers or do they represent something else? |
Alessandro Scotti Loyal user Italy 263 Posts |
Magicgeorge,
The object is not a calendar and, as you suspected, the numbers do represent something else!
Walk of Mind: the best source of bad magic
|
eggshell Regular user Chorley, England 146 Posts |
4 84465 48 47 2
Visit my blog at : http://thewizardsball.blogspot.com/
|
Scott Cram Inner circle 2678 Posts |
Quote:
On 2003-10-13 09:25, Nir Dahan wrote: This is exactly why I've stopped showing number sequence puzzles to Looy Simonoff. Any time I do, he always gives me this same answer. Me: "Looy, what's new?" Looy: "Kinematic viscosity. What's mu?" |
Alessandro Scotti Loyal user Italy 263 Posts |
Congratulations to eggshell, who gave the correct answer, and obvious did not guess!
eggshell, do you want to explain your answer?
Walk of Mind: the best source of bad magic
|
eggshell Regular user Chorley, England 146 Posts |
Yes,
It’s a brilliant idea by the way, Alessandro. They are the numbers you need to key on a mobile phone using predictive texting and they spell out different colors. Of course I won't mention the fact that I sat here for hours trying to break the code with by allocating different numbers to different letters of the alphabet. The strange thing is I really can't remember how or what suddenly clicked to give me the answer, perhaps it was one of those Uri Geller moments!!!
Visit my blog at : http://thewizardsball.blogspot.com/
|
Nir Dahan Inner circle Munich, Germany 1390 Posts |
MagicGeorge,
If you are interested the simplest way to create such a polynomial is the Lagrange polynomial. If you have a high school math education you can understand it. There are many links on the web. Of course there are other ways to do it. Nir |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Puzzle me this... » » What's next in the sequence? (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |