Significant numbers

November 11, 2005 2:09 PM

Significance of numbers.Not to be confused with the concept of "significant figures," this page lists the significance of numbers 0 through 1000. See! "2 is the only even prime." Hear! "24 is the largest number divisible by all numbers less than its square root." Thrill! "3367 is the smallest number which can be written as the difference of 2 cubes in 3 ways." Whoa!
posted by scarabic (43 comments total)

(this is excellent)
posted by Rothko at 2:15 PM on November 11, 2005

0 is the number of times the guy who put this together has got laid.
posted by quadog at 2:15 PM on November 11, 2005

"5" is the number of simulatneous connections their server can handle.

(I love this link, it's just not coming through very fast. And can anyone remind me what a "curious number" is? 2020 is one, apparently)
posted by Wolfdog at 2:19 PM on November 11, 2005

29 is the 7th Lucas number.

I dunno, that seems kind of insignificant.
posted by kenko at 2:23 PM on November 11, 2005

0 is the number of times the guy who put this together has got laid.

1 is the number of grammatical faults in the previous sentence.
posted by voltairemodern at 2:29 PM on November 11, 2005

The fact that they cite about 196 is the beginning of a very difficult open problem: [1, 2].
posted by Wolfdog at 2:30 PM on November 11, 2005

One, is the loneliest number that you'll ever see. (aimie mann drifts off on the speakers)
posted by tzelig at 2:30 PM on November 11, 2005

New archytpal MeFi joke:

151 is a palindromic prime.
152 ???
153 = 13 + 53 + 33.
posted by Bugbread at 2:32 PM on November 11, 2005

Awesome! thanks!

There are still a few unclaimed-to-fame numbers in that list.
I'll bet we can use them somewhere.
posted by Balisong at 2:41 PM on November 11, 2005

For further reading on this subject, I recommend this excellent and thoroughly fascinating book. Highly readable, even to someone like me, whos stopped taking math in 10th grade (as early as New York State would allow).
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:44 PM on November 11, 2005

this was posted on digg several hours earlier. but here's a version with links to explanations of terms.
posted by 3.2.3 at 2:49 PM on November 11, 2005

3.2.3's version of the link is much better. For instance, 153=13+53+33 is false, but 153=1³+5³+3³, as it is given in 3.2.3's version, is true.
posted by kickingtheground at 2:56 PM on November 11, 2005

19156 = 3.2.3 = much nicer version. Thanks!
posted by scarabic at 3:11 PM on November 11, 2005

1729 was the number of a London cab, but is otherwise rather dull.
posted by mr vino at 3:13 PM on November 11, 2005

There are no uninteresting numbers.
posted by justkevin at 3:21 PM on November 11, 2005

I was talking to my buddy the other day, and I said ‘Dude, don’t even pretend that 9468 isn’t the sum of its proper divisorsproper divisors that contain the digit 7, cause it is.’
Well this big asshole in the bar comes on like 6 isn’t a perfect number. “It’s not so perfect,” he said. “And pi might as well be 3.”
Well, if those aren’t fighting words...
posted by Smedleyman at 3:41 PM on November 11, 2005

89 = 81 + 92
How so?
posted by zeerobots at 3:56 PM on November 11, 2005

Kansas just outlawed numbers.
posted by bardic at 4:00 PM on November 11, 2005

Add this for 163: e^(pi * sqrt(163)), obviously a transcendental expression, evaluates to allllmost an integer (off by about 10^-15).

The fine structure constant, a dimensionless number relating to probability an electron will emit or absorb a photon, was thought to be exactly 137. Richard Feynman once remarked, "...one of the greatest damn mysteries of physics: a magic number that comes to use with no understanding by man." However, it's not an exact integer.

Here are more "almost integers", including a simple one you can try out: sin(11).
posted by kurumi at 4:05 PM on November 11, 2005

223 is the smallest prime which will nor remain prime if one of its digits is changed.
224 ???
225 PROFIT!
posted by Pretty_Generic at 4:06 PM on November 11, 2005

89 = 8^1 + 9^2.

Go to 3.2.3's link :) Exponents and other crap got left out of this text version.
posted by adzm at 4:09 PM on November 11, 2005

That explains "729 = 36"; actually, 729 = 3^6.
posted by alumshubby at 4:30 PM on November 11, 2005

"3" is the magic number.

Sorry...
posted by Mwongozi at 5:13 PM on November 11, 2005

9091 is the only prime known whose reciprocal has period 10.
I wonder if it really is the only one? I've got some time to kill tonight, maybe I'll solve the discrete log problem.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:30 PM on November 11, 2005

226 (or 154, depending on the version) is the smallest integer with no real significance.
posted by aubilenon at 6:36 PM on November 11, 2005

He forgot:

4 8 15 16 23 42

...keeps the world from exploding.
posted by thanotopsis at 6:37 PM on November 11, 2005

Of course I post that immediately BEFORE reading Justkevin's similar (but more academic) link.
posted by aubilenon at 6:38 PM on November 11, 2005

1337!

(because someone had to say it...)
posted by easternblot at 8:47 PM on November 11, 2005

Three
posted by ParisParamus at 8:55 PM on November 11, 2005

40 is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order

Shiiiit.

Cool post, thank you.
posted by marxchivist at 9:15 PM on November 11, 2005

42?
posted by blue_beetle at 9:20 PM on November 11, 2005

Complimentary Prime Number Shitting Bear.
posted by Balisong at 9:49 PM on November 11, 2005

6232 is an amicable number.

Well shucks, I should get to know it better.
posted by Space Coyote at 10:40 PM on November 11, 2005

"40 is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order."

Now that's something you can use to impress people at a party.
posted by Citizen Premier at 1:01 AM on November 12, 2005

can someone explain 16?:

16 is the only number of the form xy=yx with x and y different integers.
posted by andrew cooke at 4:19 AM on November 12, 2005

or 89 = 81 + 92?
posted by andrew cooke at 4:24 AM on November 12, 2005

oh, sorry, that one explained above.
posted by andrew cooke at 4:33 AM on November 12, 2005

oh, all explained above.
posted by andrew cooke at 4:34 AM on November 12, 2005

wow. i am quite impressively stupid today. link should be: above
posted by andrew cooke at 4:36 AM on November 12, 2005

40 is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order

Isn't it spelt "fourty" in some places?
posted by divabat at 6:49 AM on November 12, 2005

Isn't it spelt "fourty" in some places?

Maybe, but wrongly so. The u in four goes out the window when "transformed" to forty.
posted by psychomedia at 9:42 AM on November 12, 2005

Too lazy to see if anyone else said it already, but 1 is the lonliest number.
posted by Jesse H Christ at 4:03 PM on November 12, 2005

And now that I've actually taken time to read others' comments I see that someone already said it and I'm just boring and dumb.
posted by Jesse H Christ at 4:05 PM on November 12, 2005