July 08, 2011

Short answer: 22

My "A Matter of Numbers" column in Mint is on air today (July 8). It talks about a recent fuss over 823, as also what one consequence of my having 37 fingers might be.

Take a look. Short Answer: 22.

Comments welcome.


buddy said...

keep these columns coming.
well written, simple enough to hook the beginner and interesting enough to keep jaded engineers reading till the end!

Anonymous said...

So the saying about beauty is generalised - patterns lie in the eye of the beholder. Good post Dilip. It connects the world of numbers to our daily lives and, eventually to the houses of the stars and planets. You must be a Taurus.

On another note - pick any single event. Say a pedestrian is accidentally struck at a crossing. How can one decide if it was a case of pure chance, it was fated, or the result of divine intervention? People choose what suits them best - or is there an absolute way to decide?


"If you tossed a coin 16 times, for example, what are the chances that at least one sequence of four heads or four tails in a row will show up? I’m guessing that you’re guessing “kind of low, pal!” So I’m also guessing that you’ll be astonished to learn that such a sequence is close to certain."

Can you pls give me the derivation of this problem - its been plaguing me and i'm unable to sleep coz i cant solve it

Red said...

Watta logic sirjee :) I tried to post a comment there but couldnt maybe I should create a login ?

Anyway will continue to read.

sathyavanan said...