Number gossip

March 8, 2010 3:19 AM

All this number gossip. 41 is deficient, while 43, its twin, is lucky. But 43 is also evil. 44 is happy. 144 is hungry. 126 is a vampire. 7912 is weird.
posted by twoleftfeet (34 comments total)

What! I'm not odious and deficient!

what are you guys saying behind my back?
posted by TwelveTwo at 3:55 AM on March 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

168 is the order of the second smallest non-abelian simple group.
posted by jpcooper at 4:22 AM on March 8, 2010

Of course you know why 6 is afraid of 7 don't you? Because 7 8 9.
posted by shothotbot at 4:23 AM on March 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Shoot! I had hoped this website would tell me a special name for the even integer that is between two twin primes, but it doesn't.
posted by jepler at 4:54 AM on March 8, 2010

You might be interested in the history of number symbolism as well.
posted by woodway at 4:54 AM on March 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

It'd be nice to see one of these which takes a list of properties and returns the smallest number which satisfies them.
posted by Bobicus at 4:57 AM on March 8, 2010

Mathematicians are weird.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:27 AM on March 8, 2010

It seems woefully lacking in true facts; they completely ignore that one is the loneliest number. I mean, two can be as bad as one; Mersenne's theorems and proofs speculate that it is the loneliest number since the number one, although Fermat was certain that one actually is the loneliest number, worse than two.
posted by AzraelBrown at 5:29 AM on March 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

41 is deficient, while 43, its twin, is lucky. But 43 is also evil. 44 is happy.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 5:44 AM on March 8, 2010 [11 favorites]

Hey, 23 is evil, too. This is starting to look arbitrary! My belief in numbers has been shaken to the core! That's it! I'm giving all my money away!
posted by clvrmnky at 5:54 AM on March 8, 2010

I'm glad he knew the gossip about 1729, but he didn't know that, in some circles, people liked to use 1001 to test for divisibility by 7,11,and 13 all at once.
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:57 AM on March 8, 2010

54-46 was my number, but right now someone else has it.
posted by Abiezer at 5:58 AM on March 8, 2010

they completely ignore that one is the loneliest number.

How can one be the lonelest number when it's a part of of every other number?
posted by delmoi at 6:16 AM on March 8, 2010

Boards of Canada and I would like to remind you that 70 is the smallest weird number.
posted by en forme de poire at 6:41 AM on March 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

18 is the only number that is twice the sum of its digits.

It is also my birthday, and hence, my forever fave.
posted by emhutchinson at 6:57 AM on March 8, 2010

The number 42 is The Ultimate Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything.

Rare properties of 42: Cake.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:20 AM on March 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

This website is amazing.
posted by mai at 7:21 AM on March 8, 2010

I hate this. It's making me question dates I've picked for important events.
posted by anniecat at 7:29 AM on March 8, 2010

Mathematicians are weird awesome.

FTFY.
posted by kmz at 7:44 AM on March 8, 2010

When I was really young, all the numbers had personality traits to me. Weird.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:07 AM on March 8, 2010

126 is a pseudovampire number, not a vampire number.
posted by kenko at 8:14 AM on March 8, 2010

shothotbot, do you know why 8 is afraid of 9?

Because 9 is a fucking psycho.
posted by IAmBroom at 8:33 AM on March 8, 2010

if man is five, then the devil is six, then god is seven?
posted by so_gracefully at 8:47 AM on March 8, 2010

Iromnouth: synesthesia?
posted by so_gracefully at 8:48 AM on March 8, 2010

I think we can all agree: Mathematicians are weirdly awesome.
posted by bonehead at 8:56 AM on March 8, 2010

Sorry, that's not Numberwang.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 9:17 AM on March 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

47
posted by solipsophistocracy at 10:18 AM on March 8, 2010

What did the 0 say to the 8?

Nice belt...
posted by schyler523 at 10:45 AM on March 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I still have a touch of number-color synaesthesia left over from my youth, so basically this is like someone who masturbates to arguments finding MetaTalk for the first time. Thanks!
posted by jtron at 10:54 AM on March 8, 2010

"I'm sure -1 is a fine number, but I only like to talk about positive things."
posted by jtron at 10:57 AM on March 8, 2010

woodway: "You might be interested in the history of number symbolism as well."

Thanks for that. I hit my viewing limit on google books and went over to Amazon where I found one used and also found Nuptial Arithmetic: Marsilio Ficino's Commentary on the Fatal Number in Book VIII of Plato's Republic ($179, new).

And as with any reviewer of a detective story A Detective Story is an animated short film, part of The Animatrix series, set in the universe of The Matrix series. Traditional animation is blended with grainy photographic backgrounds to produce a very distinctive style. one does not spoil the mystery by announcing its resolution beforehand. Better to allow the agony of suspense. Enough to say that the fatal number is neither Cardano's 8128 nor Mersenne's 729. The book beckons.

And then we have Da Vinci's Code

In some way, the "fatal" number plays a role in determining the future prosperity of a republic.

I have a page (SL) on comparative symbolism of the numbers 1-10.
posted by psyche7 at 4:50 PM on March 8, 2010

Ironmouth: When I was really young, all the numbers had personality traits to me. Weird.

Huh, me too. I remember thinking that 5 was really stuck up and mean to all the other numbers, and 8 was a nice, sweet peacemaker who just wanted everyone to get along.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 7:44 PM on March 8, 2010

I still have a touch of number-color synaesthesia left over from my youth

5 x 6 is blue and orange.
7 x 7 is purple.
8 x 8 is pink.

Always and forever.
posted by Lucinda at 8:08 PM on March 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm sure 19237 is a fine number, but I do not yet know any interesting gossip about numbers bigger than 9999.

:( It's odd and prime, at least.
posted by rubah at 8:38 PM on March 8, 2010