What's special about 277777788888899? - Numberphile

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 พ.ค. 2024
  • Matt Parker discusses multiplicative persistence.
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ความคิดเห็น • 3.9K

  • @numberphile
    @numberphile  5 ปีที่แล้ว +546

    Extra footage: th-cam.com/video/E4mrC39sEOQ/w-d-xo.html
    Matt's new book is Humble Pi: bit.ly/Humble_Pi
    More Matt videos on Numberphile: bit.ly/Matt_Videos

    • @mrJety89
      @mrJety89 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      Can't you just ask what numbers give you 277777788888899 when multiplied, and then that number would have a persistense of 12 by default.

    • @ErixTheRed
      @ErixTheRed 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@mrJety89 Or really you could look to multiply out to any permutation of the digits in 277777788888899. Maybe it's easier to end up with an even number like 997777778888882.

    • @jackingbowl5678
      @jackingbowl5678 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      can you make a downloadable program for those codes?

    • @greyduck4965
      @greyduck4965 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      interesting seeing python in a Numberphile video, as I just started learning python a couple days ago

    • @mrJety89
      @mrJety89 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@ErixTheRed
      Yeah, I was thinking abou that too. Something tells me that they've already tried both of those ideas.

  • @jerberus5563
    @jerberus5563 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7818

    "5 times 4 is … uhhhhh….20." The deeper into math that you get, the harder the easier things become sometimes. XDDD

    • @raimonwintzer
      @raimonwintzer 5 ปีที่แล้ว +92

      preach

    • @GoProGuyHD
      @GoProGuyHD 4 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      He is obviously joking

    • @timirkantisom7833
      @timirkantisom7833 4 ปีที่แล้ว +60

      Nope

    • @mmeister8582
      @mmeister8582 4 ปีที่แล้ว +499

      This is actually super accurate. U stop using numbers at some point when u do math, so u lose basic skills

    • @SirNyanPanda
      @SirNyanPanda 4 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      @@mmeister8582 What do you mean you stop using numbers?

  • @WhiteHatMatt
    @WhiteHatMatt 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2217

    Mathematician small talk: “So what numbers are you into these days?”

    • @qwertyuiop-cy5en
      @qwertyuiop-cy5en 4 ปีที่แล้ว +49

      ahh uhm i personally like 12

    • @theterribleanimator1793
      @theterribleanimator1793 4 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      @@qwertyuiop-cy5en i could go for an exponential today.

    • @AdelaeR
      @AdelaeR 4 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      @@theterribleanimator1793 It's been the number 91 again for the last few weeks.

    • @Cream147player
      @Cream147player 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      32 is a number I find inherently attractive for no apparent reason (other than being a power of 2).
      I don’t find 16 as attractive but I do love it being the only number that can be described as x^y and y^x where x and y are differing positive integers (2 and 4, for the record).
      Overall I just love powers of 2. Numbers like 12 and 24 are cute and all, but that factor of 3 feels like an imperfection.

    • @jeek3452
      @jeek3452 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      3, take it or leave it

  • @TheSwiftFalcon
    @TheSwiftFalcon 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2161

    As a programmer, what gets me is that he went back and modified his code, but didn't remove the redundant print statement.

    • @CorwinAlexander
      @CorwinAlexander 3 ปีที่แล้ว +70

      Definitely, I barely coded ever and haven't coded since the 80s, but even I spotted that that was the problem.

    • @DarkKyugara
      @DarkKyugara 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      I knew he would simply remove 1 from the total number, because the code gave him +1 because of the entra last step.

    • @jpdemer5
      @jpdemer5 2 ปีที่แล้ว +95

      It's a Parker Program: almost right.

    • @Lodinn
      @Lodinn 2 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      What got me is print statements in the first place. Python2 is strong with him.

    • @KarstenOkk
      @KarstenOkk 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      With a little bit of extra interfacing it could make logical sense. Like the final number gives an additional string "Final entry: X". But yeah, he said he "could just" remove it, he never said he would.

  • @FixTheWi-Fi
    @FixTheWi-Fi 4 ปีที่แล้ว +517

    Matt: *writes code*
    Matt: "That can't go wrong."
    Me: *waits to see how that'll go wrong*

    • @wtfiswiththosehandles
      @wtfiswiththosehandles 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      That's something we would have called a *Parker Code*

    • @GlobalWarmingSkeptic
      @GlobalWarmingSkeptic 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Every programmer writes perfect code while they are staring at it. Nothing can ever go wrong.

  • @benjaminbrady2385
    @benjaminbrady2385 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2901

    The base 2 version of this game is pretty sad

    • @nowonmetube
      @nowonmetube 5 ปีที่แล้ว +96

      You can only use 1s

    • @nowonmetube
      @nowonmetube 5 ปีที่แล้ว +147

      1
      11
      111
      1111
      11111
      Now play the game backwards..

    • @J374338
      @J374338 5 ปีที่แล้ว +65

      Both 1 and 0 are the BOOM 🤣🤣🤣

    • @samodelkini
      @samodelkini 5 ปีที่แล้ว +121

      nowonmetube It‘s always 1 step whatever the number is
      111111111111111-> 1*1*...*1=1

    • @Smittel
      @Smittel 5 ปีที่แล้ว +41

      @@samodelkini yea i think they knew that thanks for clarifying tho

  • @MrCyanGaming
    @MrCyanGaming 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3483

    lot of people saying 327 isn't prime, I think he means the individual digits are prime

    • @numberphile
      @numberphile  5 ปีที่แล้ว +901

      Yep, I think so.

    • @stardustreverie6880
      @stardustreverie6880 5 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      @@numberphile nitrogen-infused coffee ☕

    • @Garbaz
      @Garbaz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +297

      He said "Primes" (plural), so yes.

    • @JamesSpeiser
      @JamesSpeiser 5 ปีที่แล้ว +209

      that was obvious to me immediately and I'm an idiot

    • @hgjfkd12345
      @hgjfkd12345 5 ปีที่แล้ว +93

      It's a parker prime

  • @unrealnews
    @unrealnews 4 ปีที่แล้ว +302

    I love how Matt is willing to think and even make mistakes on camera. That kind of security in one’s intelligence probably makes someone really easy to get along with.

    • @F1amingDeath
      @F1amingDeath 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Never trust a perfect person

    • @efulmer8675
      @efulmer8675 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Except Matt isn't perfect, he makes tons of mistakes all the time, he's just secure that his mistakes don't reflect on his actual abilities. Otherwise we wouldn't have the brilliant "Parker X" banter that makes his channel and Numberphile's channel so entertaining.

    • @chriswebster24
      @chriswebster24 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @@efulmer8675 I think that was the point. A person who claims to be perfect is likely to be fake, and you can’t trust someone like that. A person who doesn’t mind getting caught making mistakes, because he never pretended to be perfect in the first place, is more likely to be someone you can trust.

  • @subzeroelectronics3022
    @subzeroelectronics3022 3 ปีที่แล้ว +250

    I love how “Suggested: The Parker Square” pops up in the corner when Matt says, “I’m always one to give it a go.”

  • @Stuka01210
    @Stuka01210 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3919

    *uses calculator*
    "2 × 7.... equals 14"
    Literally me when I write an exam. Can't go wrong lol

    • @LundbergMeja
      @LundbergMeja 5 ปีที่แล้ว +84

      Stuka don't forget to double check it!

    • @The_NthGineer
      @The_NthGineer 5 ปีที่แล้ว +75

      It was me in engineering school... I was double checking simple multiplications because I was more stressed to get it wrong because of them than with the reasoning of the math!

    • @RedGallardo
      @RedGallardo 5 ปีที่แล้ว +33

      He's a mathematician, he does it in a sequence, it doesn't matter how simple is an action. It's the order inside your mind. Because the moment he says "nah, I don't have to do it, it's obvious" he starts to make mistakes. From small to bigger and for math these are all the same. He's learned the hard way to be patient and correct. So it's now a reflex. =)

    • @Peter_1986
      @Peter_1986 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      I had a weird habit of refusing to accept a calculator when I took math tests in junior high school in the late 90s.
      My math teacher was always like "shouldn't you have a calculator, though?" and I said NO, and insisted on calculating everything by hand.
      Not sure why, but maybe I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it without a calculator or something.

    • @M4RC90
      @M4RC90 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Well he wanted to multiply all the digits together, so he started with 2 x 7. Sure he could have typed 14 straight away and saved two button presses, but he didn't.

  • @PotmosHetoimos
    @PotmosHetoimos 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1749

    I paused this at 3:40 and thought "I could code this!" So I did. Then I came to the video...and watched him decided to code it.

    • @DanielBrownsan
      @DanielBrownsan 5 ปีที่แล้ว +195

      You get points for "doing the work". Kudos!

    • @kryo2k
      @kryo2k 5 ปีที่แล้ว +76

      Did exactly the same. Ended up without bugs.

    • @Faaaaaaaaaaaaz
      @Faaaaaaaaaaaaz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +67

      5 points to Gryffindor

    • @anandsuralkar2947
      @anandsuralkar2947 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Cool i m not in my room or i would have also coded it

    • @anandsuralkar2947
      @anandsuralkar2947 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@kryo2k lol

  • @Mutual_Information
    @Mutual_Information ปีที่แล้ว +78

    For some reason, I always like videos about really big numbers. It seems it’s more interesting for a large number to be special.. because it’s so specific!

    • @happmacdonald
      @happmacdonald 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Googology has entered the chat

  • @VynceMontgomery
    @VynceMontgomery 2 ปีที่แล้ว +51

    I think Matt hit on an important bit when he mentioned the base-ten-ness of this problem. Consider that in base 2, you can never have a number that multiples to anything other than 1 or 0. Has anybody checked for patterns across bases?

    • @douggggggg
      @douggggggg 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      i would think base 10 is definitely the reason for 11 being the maximum
      probably a proof if you generalize a base 10 number as a sum of multiples of powers of 10 where you can manage to pull out a "10" after 10 steps and then you will get the 11th step always resulting in 0 and there being no way to continue

    • @VynceMontgomery
      @VynceMontgomery 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@douggggggg I don't think it's that clean, quite, but I do think the attrition of possible branches gets too fast

    • @markhughes7927
      @markhughes7927 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      111 - the number of the star-gate?

  • @sk8rdman
    @sk8rdman 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2659

    At first I thought that Matt was extremely brave to be so confident in his coding skills that he would be willing to do it live on the internet in front of an audience of nerds.
    Then I realized that Matt is not ashamed to be caught making mistakes.
    In truth, that's one of the things I admire most about him.

    • @YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe
      @YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe 5 ปีที่แล้ว +75

      I entirely agree. I deeply admire and envy that about others, while I despise my own fear.

    • @HN-kr1nf
      @HN-kr1nf 5 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      these numberphile regulars are really great.

    • @totheknee
      @totheknee 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      He makes mistakes live on the internets for breckfist and doesn't give 2 Fs! XD

    • @GhostGlitch.
      @GhostGlitch. 5 ปีที่แล้ว +68

      Mik he was talking about the individual digits being prime

    • @caleblewis8169
      @caleblewis8169 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Parker square

  • @thijsvanesch6939
    @thijsvanesch6939 5 ปีที่แล้ว +573

    "i'm always one to give it a go"
    *parker square shows up in the i-card*

  • @jwsjacobs
    @jwsjacobs 4 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    12:52 "I'm always one to give it a go"
    (i) symbol recommends The Parker Square
    *savage*

  • @idkravitz
    @idkravitz 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    The reverse approach might be better - instead of looking for numbers that result in most steps, look for steps and reconstruct the number that should give these steps. For instance if the last step is 20 then we should go for number whose digits are divisors of 20, like 225 or 45, and so on

    • @capjus
      @capjus 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Clever

  • @richardy
    @richardy 5 ปีที่แล้ว +930

    12:53
    Matt be like "I'm always one to give it a go"
    Top right corner suggestion: *Parker Square*

    • @vanillaannihilation5871
      @vanillaannihilation5871 4 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Best punchline ever

    • @circlonianmapper
      @circlonianmapper 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Richard Yan LOL

    • @krystofdayne
      @krystofdayne 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yeah that was super passive aggressive xD

    • @oz_jones
      @oz_jones 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@krystofdayne Nah, it's just cheeky banter.

    • @mariafe7050
      @mariafe7050 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Coincidence?

  • @BastienHell
    @BastienHell 5 ปีที่แล้ว +556

    > print(n), return "done"
    > pastes code in the terminal
    Inspiring.

    • @terner1234
      @terner1234 5 ปีที่แล้ว +60

      you just can't comprehend his high IQ and thinking skills

    • @globalincident694
      @globalincident694 5 ปีที่แล้ว +43

      he was using python 2 as well

    • @Lovuschka
      @Lovuschka 5 ปีที่แล้ว +33

      He forgot to add "Hello World"

    • @thexavier666
      @thexavier666 5 ปีที่แล้ว +90

      I know it's a joke. But let me educate others. Matt is a mathematician, not a coder. He is not expected to know the tiny nuances of coding. What matters is whether his logic is correct. So returning "DONE" is perfectly fine. Also, using Python2 is also fine. It's not like this code is some multi-client multi-threaded huge application which needs to maintained for a long time. It's just a simple script to crunch some numbers. No need to bring Python3 here as he is comfortable with Python2. But it's encouraged to shift to it. (I myself shifted to Python3 a month back)

    • @NightsChapterSeven
      @NightsChapterSeven 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Sumitro Bhaumik how is returning done fine? It makes no sense

  • @NathanJamesJerritze
    @NathanJamesJerritze ปีที่แล้ว +3

    that is the world's best thumbnail

  • @8939403231
    @8939403231 4 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    I loved watching him code along with showing the math problem. Please do this more often!

  • @egorstrakhov1840
    @egorstrakhov1840 4 ปีที่แล้ว +791

    9:40 - u have nice hairstyle on your shadow)))

  • @johnox2226
    @johnox2226 5 ปีที่แล้ว +356

    9:42 Matt with a Mohawk does not look right...

    • @RonJohn63
      @RonJohn63 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      That's a buzz cut, not a Mohawk.

    • @WrenAkula
      @WrenAkula 5 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      @@RonJohn63 Look at the shadow on the door.

    • @RonJohn63
      @RonJohn63 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@WrenAkula I choose to not understand!

    • @forstnamelorstname4169
      @forstnamelorstname4169 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Matt is secretly an anime protagonist with a fancy transformation sequence.

    • @bcn1gh7h4wk
      @bcn1gh7h4wk 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      me: "Matt with a moh.... ?" _spots the joke_ ".... omg..." _facepalm_

  • @FanTazTiCxD
    @FanTazTiCxD 3 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    I love that thumbnail. The way he looks, with such fascination, at the number 277777788888899 as if it's the most attractive thing in the world 🤣🤣🤣

  • @akshayrajan8793
    @akshayrajan8793 4 ปีที่แล้ว +37

    At 12:51
    Matt: "I'm always one to give it a go"
    Numberphile suggested video: "The Parker Square"

  • @MichaelMamanakis
    @MichaelMamanakis 5 ปีที่แล้ว +202

    If you add 90, or a 3.24e-11% you get 277777788888989, which has the same persistence, but is also prime.

    • @Monitorbread
      @Monitorbread 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      woah

    • @fcturner
      @fcturner 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      It’s higher than the original, and just has the same sequence of numbers. Bit underwhelming.

    • @bable6314
      @bable6314 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      It's literally the same sequence of numbers lol, just in a slightly different order.

    • @MIKIBURGOS
      @MIKIBURGOS 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      If you add 900 to yours, it also works (or 990, 9990, 99990....)

    • @fffmpeg
      @fffmpeg 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      any permutation of these digits have the exact same persistence and it's pretty obvious. changing two digits around and calling it adding 90 is a little weird

  • @paulbeattie1717
    @paulbeattie1717 5 ปีที่แล้ว +882

    I liked the coding part! More of that yes yes!!

    • @randomdude9135
      @randomdude9135 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Can I learn these Cscience things all by myself?

    • @artaway6647
      @artaway6647 5 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      @@randomdude9135 yea, fortunately there are tons of programming lessons on the internet

    • @anthonyhoffmann
      @anthonyhoffmann 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Just say no to python.

    • @LiborSupcik
      @LiborSupcik 5 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @@anthonyhoffmann why so?

    • @erikbmx478
      @erikbmx478 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      How about subscribing to computerphile?

  • @plushiibean
    @plushiibean 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    When you became so advanced, easy things are the hard things

  • @marvinabarquez8915
    @marvinabarquez8915 3 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Matt could've fixed the duplicated single digit final value by removing line 3. that's my only contribution to this video

  • @Zejgar
    @Zejgar 5 ปีที่แล้ว +275

    0:14
    "277,777,788,888,899" - written on the paper
    "277,777,778,888,899" - said by Matt
    Don't think we wouldn't find a Parker Square in this one too, mister Matt!

    • @feronanthus9756
      @feronanthus9756 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      I had high hopes... and then we got 15 seconds into the video.

    • @cleteblackwell1706
      @cleteblackwell1706 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Someone explain?

    • @stumbling
      @stumbling 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      The Parker persistence of "277,777,778,888,899" is still 11.

    • @cone16v
      @cone16v 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      PARKER SQUAREEEAAAAAA

    • @nicholas2113
      @nicholas2113 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Sodiumitis no, he said some numbers reached the same length

  • @oldcowbb
    @oldcowbb 4 ปีที่แล้ว +275

    wise word: never code in front of class
    matt: hold my square

    • @nateiverson8681
      @nateiverson8681 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Honestly it's no more risky than doing mathematics in front of a class. Everyone makes mistakes at the board.

    • @MakisHMMY
      @MakisHMMY 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I always coded in front of my class. Hours and hours per day

  • @robertattaway7866
    @robertattaway7866 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    This was pretty cool. I spent some time starting with digits and increasing them until the proverbial 2,5 pattern or a zero started showing up. Once you start getting a significant number of digits it really is difficult to not get a zero into any position simply due to the law of large numbers having some zeros somewhere.

  • @GlitchyPikachu
    @GlitchyPikachu 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Every Numberphile thumbnail is a work of art, but some, like this one, are even better art than the rest

  • @timbuttanshaw9431
    @timbuttanshaw9431 5 ปีที่แล้ว +155

    I love that as Matt says "I'm always one to give it a go" a link to the parker square video comes up in the top corner

  • @jessephillips1233
    @jessephillips1233 5 ปีที่แล้ว +249

    I paused at 1:50 and gave it a try. Went with 999
    so:
    999->729->126->12->2
    4 steps, not bad.

    • @Ascordigan
      @Ascordigan 5 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      I tried 3927 and got five (378, 168, 48, 32, 6) steps.

    • @SgtSupaman
      @SgtSupaman 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @MilesTisserand , if you mean any number has an equal chance of being chosen, I have a feeling the odds would lean heavily to 1 and 2 steps because of how often 0 comes up. It would be interesting to see the odds if you automatically exclude certain numbers that you know will drag down the average (like any that has 0 from the start).

    • @tabletoparcade4203
      @tabletoparcade4203 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@Ascordigan Then 679 (2x3) would have the same steps. Now you know after watching the rest of the video, that the aim is find the lowest number.

    • @plplpop1
      @plplpop1 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @MilesTisserand Interesting idea. If I wasn't a busy undergrad, I would definitely try it out and graph the probability distribution. It'd be crazy to find a hidden poisson or something haha

    • @megamuumi7859
      @megamuumi7859 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I got six steps with 888888888

  • @AIex_Kidd
    @AIex_Kidd ปีที่แล้ว +1

    love the shadow of his head at 9:41 lol

  • @salzlord
    @salzlord 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I love these videos because they inspire me to code programs that do this myself. Eventhough I’m watching this 4 years later it was a great video

  • @DylanMatthewTurner
    @DylanMatthewTurner 5 ปีที่แล้ว +204

    I wrote a small C program to brute-force output the numbers.
    I think it's correct, if I understood the problem correctly.
    It should go through all natural numbers through 18446744073709551615 (the maximum size of an 8-byte unsigned long long in C).
    It's been running for a few hours now and I have 1-10.
    Terminal output:
    10-> 0
    Number 10 has score: 1
    25-> 10-> 0
    Number 25 has score: 2
    39-> 27-> 14-> 4
    Number 39 has score: 3
    77-> 49-> 36-> 18-> 8
    Number 77 has score: 4
    679-> 378-> 168-> 48-> 32-> 6
    Number 679 has score: 5
    6788-> 2688-> 768-> 336-> 54-> 20-> 0
    Number 6788 has score: 6
    68889-> 27648-> 2688-> 768-> 336-> 54-> 20-> 0
    Number 68889 has score: 7
    2677889-> 338688-> 27648-> 2688-> 768-> 336-> 54-> 20-> 0
    Number 2677889 has score: 8
    26888999-> 4478976-> 338688-> 27648-> 2688-> 768-> 336-> 54-> 20-> 0
    Number 26888999 has score: 9
    3778888999-> 438939648-> 4478976-> 338688-> 27648-> 2688-> 768-> 336-> 54-> 20-> 0
    Number 3778888999 has score: 10

    • @roguechlnchllla6564
      @roguechlnchllla6564 5 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      You can make it much bigger, if the original number is a String, and you just multiply the digits.

    • @defectus1769
      @defectus1769 5 ปีที่แล้ว +40

      @@roguechlnchllla6564 Even better, notice how the result of the multiplication is always of the form 2^a × 3^b × 7^c, since you're just multiplying lots of digits together. The 4's, 8's and 9's can be broken down into multiple 2's or 3's, and the 5 never appears with any 2's without instantly giving a multiple of 10 and therefore a zero at the start.
      Now, the problem just boils down to finding three integers, a, b and c, such that
      2^a × 3^b × 7^c
      is a number with a multiplication persistence of 11.

    • @wg_spiritomb
      @wg_spiritomb 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I have written a simple one in python . Upto 6-7 its fast, but after that the time it takes grows exponentially

    • @eilonlifshitz7302
      @eilonlifshitz7302 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      i got them all to the last one as well

    • @X3MgamePlays
      @X3MgamePlays 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@defectus1769
      You beat me to it. I too was thinking about that.
      I also thought of reverse engineering the next number.
      Ex. 2, 12, 34, it ends at 34, since it needs 2*17. 17 is a 2 digit number and a prime.
      Ex. 2, 12, 43.
      Ex. 2, 12, 223 or 232 or 322. Some of which can go further.
      Ex. 2, 21, 37.
      Ex. 2, 21, 73.
      I tried 6, and got myself a little tree of options to start from. They all end with 6. But I don't know how to write a program that looks for reversed engineer all options.
      If someone makes that, you could use that 11 parts number as a start. All possible answers would roll out. And perhaps even more.
      Since you are right about 2, 3 and 7. You could easily weed wrong answers out for the next step.

  • @twibby6625
    @twibby6625 5 ปีที่แล้ว +155

    Soon in comments, new world record with number that has 15 steps and Matt playing it on piano

    • @ErixTheRed
      @ErixTheRed 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Play it on today's google doodle

    • @zmaj12321
      @zmaj12321 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Soon on 4chan, someone asks a question about an anime and someone else mathematically analyzes it to find a 15 -step number.

    • @ehsan_kia
      @ehsan_kia 5 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      It does indeed seem like 11 is the limit. I calculated up to 1500 digits and there aren't any solutions. Similarly, I computed limits for bases 2-10,
      Base 2: 1
      Base 3: 3
      Base 4: 3
      Base 5: 5
      Base 6: 5
      Base 7: 8
      Base 8: 6
      Base 9: 7
      Base 10: 11
      They all reach this "cliff" after which there's no answers as far as I computed, so it's probably fair to conjecture they all reach limits.

    • @theonetruepath
      @theonetruepath 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ehsan_kia Base 11: 13 23777777777777777778888888999999aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

    • @bencrossley647
      @bencrossley647 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ehsan_kia Any chance you could do this for bases up to 36? I have a conjecture I'd like to test and I cannot code. :(

  • @mooncowtube
    @mooncowtube 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Love how when Matt says "I'm always one to give it a go" a card for the Parker Square video appears...

  • @Chrysalis208
    @Chrysalis208 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I just learned more about coding in this simple video than i ever had before

  • @mohakgautam4832
    @mohakgautam4832 5 ปีที่แล้ว +164

    Tutorial on how to convert your computer into a bonfire.

    • @whatisthis2809
      @whatisthis2809 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Step 1. Run complex problems that nobody has answered!
      Step 2. Wait
      Step 3. Wait
      ...
      Step 9. Wait
      Step A. Wait
      Step B. Wait
      ...
      Step FC. Wait
      Step FD. Wait
      Step FE. Wait
      Step FF. Wait
      Step 100. Boom! You got an answer and a fire!

    • @MajorMandyKitten
      @MajorMandyKitten 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Are you running a 90s processor without a cooler? Lol

    • @Tsutomu6
      @Tsutomu6 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Made my day.

    • @boboften9952
      @boboften9952 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@whatisthis2809
      Brilliant .

  • @matthiasheymann
    @matthiasheymann 4 ปีที่แล้ว +102

    Your shadow at 9:46 is epic - you look like Julius Caesar. :-)

  • @notnoah154
    @notnoah154 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Can't you just get a number that when you multiply all its digits makes the record holder? Wouldn't that just add 1 step? Or is the record holder impossible to multiply into?

    • @dhycee8215
      @dhycee8215 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      fact, but what string of digits multiplied will get you that number.... figure that one out

    • @notnoah154
      @notnoah154 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@dhycee8215 thats the problem lul

  • @Frostnburn
    @Frostnburn 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Just to add, they can also remove any numbers with "1" in them for the smallest number search, since that number will always yield the same number of steps as the same number but with all the '1's removed, so any smallest number cannot have "1" in its digits

  • @santimonto26
    @santimonto26 5 ปีที่แล้ว +79

    While the Parker Square is always amusing, this video leads me to a nice new constant: Brady's Number = 2

    • @woodfur00
      @woodfur00 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Vihart already did that

  • @ethanmay170
    @ethanmay170 5 ปีที่แล้ว +70

    Hey mate, after watching this video I have spent hours upon hours trying to figure out a formula.
    I haven't come up with an exact formula, however, I have noted that if you start *backwards* you can go around in circles for ages.
    Take the single digit number 6, for example. Now 6 has 4 factors, 1-6 and 2-3.
    With this, we can make 4 number, from the 4 factors... 16 23 32 61
    We know two of these are primes so they are irrelevant, bye bye 23 and 61
    now, with 16 and 32, one is the double of the other - ill come back to this.
    So, like before, 16 has 3/single digit factors, 2-8,4-4
    from this, we can make 28, 44, 44:) and 82
    We can continue this sequence until all our remaining factors and their combinations only have primes as factors, and then this final number we can put into the program, or calculate yourself and figure out the steps, coming back to the final figure/our figure, 6.
    I'll leave you with one last thing. 23 earlier, was a prime number and we could not continue it in the sequence, however; 2*3=6 but so does 1*2*3, and 1*1*2*1*3*1*1
    This is the difficulty I am facing with my current formula, as there is nothing against placing 1s into a prime number solution or just any solution in general and then continue on from there-doing the same thing over and over again. It does just mean one thing - your final solution will be longer than the current record, however, we can break the record and set a new one.
    I'll let you break the record though, is too tired now :)

    • @ZournUnleashed
      @ZournUnleashed 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      this dude wrote all of that only to get 3 likes

    • @user-rv9vk8by5i
      @user-rv9vk8by5i 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      ​@@onehotseat You... missed the point.
      Ethan started on a random single-digit number, and created a sequence that would go to it (28 -> 16 -> 6) by factoring it. It's transparent how this method works - you find single-digit factors of a number, and string them together to create a new number (factors of 16 are 1,16, 2,8, 4,4, so 28 and 44 both go to 16 which goes to 6). Using the same method we continue - single-digit factors of 28 are 4,7.
      47 is prime, and 74 has no single-digit factors. However, 4 is 2x2, so we also have 227, 272, 722. And none of them have single-digit factors, so we can't continue this sequence past length 3 (47 -> 28 -> 16 -> 6)
      Adding 1 to the _starting_ number is pointless, but we don't _have_ a starting number. However, a 1 in an intermediate step is not harmful, and only expands the number of possibilities for reversing a sequence. We can't continue the sequence from 23 because 23 is prime - nothing will multiply to it. However, by inserting 1s, we could end up with a number that contains only a 2, a 3, and a ton of 1s, with single-digit factors. From these, we can construct a number that multiplies the number we found with 2, 3, and 1s, and that number will multiply to 16.
      At the extreme, there's the number from the video. That one ends at 0, and there's infinitely many numbers that can lead to 0. Picking one at random, 20, gives us more factors to play with. 20 factors to 4,5, giving us 225, 252, 522, 45, and 54. Continuing in this fashion, we get to 438939648, which has factors 2^12, 3^7, 7^2, all single-digit. However, you may notice that there's no way to arrange and combine those factors that gives us another number with single-digit factors, _unless_ if you slot in a 1 and end up with the number 4996238671872. That number _does_ have single-digit factors - a 2, 6 7s, 6 8s, and 4 3s.
      I'm just not sure whether this number theory method is faster than brute forcing. There's already a plethora of ways to rearrange and combine factors of large numbers, and you have to find the ones with single-digit factors. You then have to account for the fact that every combination could have any number of 1s put into it, in any position, and factorise those too, all of which sounds computationally more expensive than just multiplying down the digits of most numbers from 1 to 10^320

    • @9891904317589
      @9891904317589 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Toying with this for a while, I think I found a way to get to higher numbers. If you check the steps on each number, they always repeat the lower steps. Like, 277777788888899, results first is 4996238671872, then later is 438939648. While the one beneath it, 3778888999, the next step is 438939648. This could mean that a way to find the 12th number, maybe the second step of it is the first step of the 11th one. Not a rule, since the smaller ones seem to break it, but bigger ones a very consistent.

    • @bhante1345
      @bhante1345 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Have you gone insane yet? Sitting around your town recording the numbers of car plates as they pass, guarding a shopping bag filled with Easter eggs?

  • @LudwigvanBeethoven2
    @LudwigvanBeethoven2 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    4:42 Thats a weird way if saying
    if(n < 10)

  • @peppermintmiso4341
    @peppermintmiso4341 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    12:52 "I'm always one to give it a go"
    "Suggested: Parker Square"
    Numberphile you did it again

  • @JordanMetroidManiac
    @JordanMetroidManiac 5 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    I think it would be important to consider other base counting systems. Ten is a weird number, so start with smaller (or maybe larger) bases to see what might be going on underneath all of it. Certainly, larger bases will have larger persistence measures because a randomly chosen number will have a smaller chance of having a zero in the product of its digits.

  • @mattfritz1984
    @mattfritz1984 5 ปีที่แล้ว +103

    I really like these types of videos that combine coding and number stuff

    • @bhante1345
      @bhante1345 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Would you pay for this on onlyfans?

  • @nemesisurvivorleon
    @nemesisurvivorleon 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Actually seeing the live programming was pretty cool

  • @arturslunga3415
    @arturslunga3415 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    When the calculator is tilted to Landscape you know it's serious math

  • @nadiaguarracino6910
    @nadiaguarracino6910 5 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    I discovered this trick when I was bored a school and started to multiply persistently numbers in the calculator. I always found it a very intriguing trick, didn't know it was actually a mathematical curiosity

    • @keksitzee1094
      @keksitzee1094 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Judging from the videos in this channel, anything and everything is a mathematical curiosity when the simplest problems can be scaled up, and up, and up, until it isn't trivial anymore. There are quite a few other videos like this where the game is pretty simple, but then when you continue to play it, it gets more difficult. Then they whip out the brown paper

    • @thedavecwright
      @thedavecwright 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      So rightly, the Guarracino Number of 277777788888899 is 11... etc... 😊

  • @andymcl92
    @andymcl92 5 ปีที่แล้ว +42

    Loving Matt's shadow at 9:42 :)

    • @nowonmetube
      @nowonmetube 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Interesting...

    • @barraman.
      @barraman. 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Very lol

  • @TheSkullConfernece
    @TheSkullConfernece 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I love how Matt is both hosted on Computerphile and Numberphile.

  • @grim66
    @grim66 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    One of the things I would do if I were coding the search algorithm: Include a table of entries that have already been processed, a cache, which links the number being calculated to its persistence value
    Any time you complete a digit-multiplication, check if the result has already been cached, because if it has, you already know how many more steps are left in the chain
    Or, better yet: Organize digits by their size, since as they say, at the end of the video, any permutation of digits will give you the same result -- This will reduce the size of the cache because you won't have a bunch of permutations clogging it up
    So, if "n" is the input number, your program would have a rough flow of
    per(n):
    is n a one-digit number?
    TRUE: return 0
    FALSE: proceed to next segment
    R = multiply_digits(n) -> sort(R) -> is (sorted) R cached?
    TRUE: retrieve cached value, add 1, this is the persistence value of n; save n and its persistence to cache
    FALSE: recurse, using R as the new n -> add 1 to returned persistence value of R to get n's persistence value
    This would be especially useful if you were iterating over numbers, as it would save time computing the same chain of numbers over and over again
    On the note of iteration: As they say in the video, avoid any combinations of digits that are known to create a 0; the first and easiest way to do this is to check if the number has both a 5 and an even number in its digits, in which case you automatically know that its persistence value is 2. If the number ALREADY has a 0 in it, you know its persistence value is 1. This check might end up consuming more processing power, though, it's hard to say.

  • @BurakBagdatli
    @BurakBagdatli 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1042

    Matt, we love you but please it's time to upgrade to Python 3.

    • @recklessroges
      @recklessroges 5 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      He's got 9 *whole* months before python2 is EOL ;-) [Yes! *stop* using python2; maybe try golang?]

    • @VaibhavKarve
      @VaibhavKarve 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      I came into the comments to say this!

    • @nowonmetube
      @nowonmetube 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Lol

    • @nowonmetube
      @nowonmetube 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      What's the difference though?

    • @mursie100
      @mursie100 5 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      Or maybe use a decent programming language.

  • @charles3840
    @charles3840 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I liked this because it sort of demonstrates problem solving and developing strategies.

  • @magiquemarker
    @magiquemarker 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Love this episode!

  • @kevinr.9733
    @kevinr.9733 5 ปีที่แล้ว +263

    You need a string of digits that multiply out to 277777788888899.
    ...
    Oh, bummer, all of its prime factors are greater than 7.

    • @PsychoMuffinSDM
      @PsychoMuffinSDM 5 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      It's not just a string of digits that multiple out to that number, but any combination of the digits in that number.

    • @owensilberg2966
      @owensilberg2966 5 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      and you can add as many 1s as you want anywhere in the number

    • @kevinr.9733
      @kevinr.9733 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      True. That would potentially make the search easier.

    • @owensilberg2966
      @owensilberg2966 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@kevinr.9733 I agree with that, but couldn't it also exponentially increase the number of numbers that would have to be checked?

    • @MIKIBURGOS
      @MIKIBURGOS 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Stefan-ls3pb Oh i just realised :( you destroyed my life

  • @michaelhoefler5118
    @michaelhoefler5118 5 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    “You never wanna have two threes, cause that could be a nine”

  • @JohanniklasLp
    @JohanniklasLp 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    You can decrease the search radius even more:
    - You never want a 0 or a 1
    - You only want 1 number below 4 maximum
    - You don't want 2 and 4 together
    on the other hand:
    - 5s are actually ok, but only if you only have uneven digits (like 355)

  • @blockify
    @blockify 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I really like the doing programming on the video, helps me know what to expect when I’m programming.

  • @Ritermann
    @Ritermann 5 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    Every time I watch these kind of videos, I find myself convincing myself that I would be so good at math if it would be taught to me this way back in school. But then I think, I am a potato when it comes to math. Fun to watch it anyway

    • @Loki-
      @Loki- 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Nothing wrong with giving it a go

  • @jacktheskullcrusher394
    @jacktheskullcrusher394 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    On my second attempt, I got 12 steps using 3,277,799,229,998,778

    • @magnummuskox958
      @magnummuskox958 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      That's 2 steps. 1,524,382,530,048
      0

  • @igxniisan6996
    @igxniisan6996 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I like how he says, "..today we're **doing** the number...”

  • @w1swh1
    @w1swh1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Great Matt! You make math(s) so engaging. I am fortunate as I find maths 'easy' however many of my classmates many moons ago didn't have a clue. They would have benefitted from your enthusiasm and simplicity at explaining mathematical complexities :)

  • @VaibhavKarve
    @VaibhavKarve 5 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Dr. Brady, we need more live coding in Numberphile videos.

  • @julianpinn5018
    @julianpinn5018 5 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    This is a common problem on MBPs caused by the trackpad ribbon cable being too long, being bent to fit, and failing after time at the kinks. Replace the trackpad ribbon cable (£7 or so) and your trackpad and keyboard should work again. Did mine a few months ago. Good luck.

    • @standupmaths
      @standupmaths 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Julian Pinn Thanks! I plan to take a screwdriver to it soon.

    • @gartinmarrix8484
      @gartinmarrix8484 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Did it myself recently and I was surprised at how easy it really was.

    • @Zolbat
      @Zolbat 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Just go to the genius bar and get them to fix it practically for free (probably less than 2000 pounds at least)

    • @gartinmarrix8484
      @gartinmarrix8484 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Zolbat It's 7 pounds for a cable, over 100 for the genius bar.

    • @Zolbat
      @Zolbat 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@gartinmarrix8484 so practically for free, which is amazing since the problem isn't even apples fault. Obviously all the users don't know how to treat their hardware... Opening and closing a laptop multiple times is nothing short of careless.

  • @kurzackd
    @kurzackd 3 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    It's been more than a year since this experiment. Has the record of 11 steps been beaten?

    • @sobeeaton5693
      @sobeeaton5693 2 ปีที่แล้ว +33

      I found one, but the TH-cam comment section is too small to contain it.

    • @kurzackd
      @kurzackd 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@sobeeaton5693 isn't Numberphile gonna do a vid on it? :P

    • @KaptenKetchup
      @KaptenKetchup 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@sobeeaton5693 Nice reference haha

    • @jamesmnguyen
      @jamesmnguyen 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@sobeeaton5693 Get Outta here Fermat!

  • @clonefighter1996
    @clonefighter1996 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Alright. I like what you're thinking, AND...
    2 steps.

  • @fernandoalvear3739
    @fernandoalvear3739 5 ปีที่แล้ว +82

    He didn't use stackoverflow? Matt is a genius!

    • @Attlanttizz
      @Attlanttizz 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      You misspelled Stack Overflow.

    • @wWvwvV
      @wWvwvV 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@Attlanttizz you can't put whitespaces in URLs. Even the logo is stack*overflow* as one word:.

    • @Attlanttizz
      @Attlanttizz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@wWvwvVUse your favorite search engine, search for Stack Overflow, you'll see.

    • @MrUwU-dj7js
      @MrUwU-dj7js 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Attlanttizz If this was a matter of you being able to find your page on Google, the original comment was already fine.

    • @Attlanttizz
      @Attlanttizz 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@MrUwU-dj7js Well obviously: no. Stack Overflow is the name of the site and it's written with two separate words, not in one word. Even the term stack overflow as is used in programming is written with two separate words. Just wanted to point that out, nothing more :)

  • @zadrik1337
    @zadrik1337 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I lost it when the Parker Square video popped up in the suggestion card when he said "I'm always one to give it a go."

  • @bandana_girl6507
    @bandana_girl6507 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I find it interesting that the optimal persistences for 6-11join the same track after the first step and are the optimized versions of each of the steps in the persistence route. With that, I doubt that the conjecture will hold that you would never beat 11 because surely, there must be some number in the infinite family of possibilities for the current 11 with prime factorization of the form 2^a*3^b*7^c

  • @martintekula
    @martintekula 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    "this is so much quicker!" said the inventor of calculator

  • @achyuthramachandran2189
    @achyuthramachandran2189 5 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Never a Matt Parker video without a Parker blooper within 20 seconds of the video starting.

    • @numberphile
      @numberphile  5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      It's all marketing for Matt's new book about math mistakes... Available now: bit.ly/Humble_Pi

    • @standupmaths
      @standupmaths 5 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Numberphile Can confirm. All mistakes (for the rest of my career) are now officially deliberate.

    • @aozorakei5288
      @aozorakei5288 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@standupmaths You could say it's a Parker Mistake

  • @officer_baitlyn
    @officer_baitlyn 5 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    4:00 the trackpad having problems along with the keyboard is a known mac issue from what i can tell watching louis rossmann

    • @jtlundberg2381
      @jtlundberg2381 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Yeah it is. It happened to my computer. The trackpad cable just needs to be replaced. You can get one off amazon for $10. Super easy fix

    • @jeffreymontgomery7516
      @jeffreymontgomery7516 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      or he hit the shortcut to turn them off and hasn't realized it yet

    • @ceruleanfish6703
      @ceruleanfish6703 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Or RE trackpad on a Mac laptop... If it's an older machine, take the battery out and make sure it isn't swelling. My LithIon MacPro battery up and swelled so bad it crushed the trackball circuitry.

    • @weirdal3333
      @weirdal3333 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      I just came here from his video 😂

  • @Drachenbauer
    @Drachenbauer ปีที่แล้ว

    to print the last number only 1x with your code, just remove the print command from the single digit check at the top.
    Also my pyton wants the print command slightly different: print("some value")
    It wants "()" around the content to print.
    in the version, that also tells the used steps, the print-line, that tells this, can replace your printline in the single digit check.
    I saved me the code as a textfile, so i can play around with it in my python software, whenever i want.

  • @ZrhioZ
    @ZrhioZ ปีที่แล้ว

    9:44 Loved the mohawk in that shadow.

  • @carlwitt7950
    @carlwitt7950 5 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    Math and Coding in one video.
    This is a good start to my day.

  • @manudude02
    @manudude02 5 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    You can reduce the sample spaces even further. You can eliminate all numbers with a 1 in it (since it has no effect on the result), and can eliminate all numbers that start 34.... (you can start 26...) or 36..... (similar to 2....9).
    edit: Also just realised it could never have more than 1 six in it, as two sixes allows 4....9 for a smaller number. And it cannot start 44 since it allows 2....8...

    • @Luxalpa
      @Luxalpa 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      You can also calculate the thing backwards (i.e. start from the smallest number, then work your way upwards), which would probably make the thing much faster.

    • @manudude02
      @manudude02 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Luxalpa I thought some more about it, and I think that any numbers beating it will have to start with 2,3,4,6,7,8,9 or 26 before we hit the wall of 789s (and obviously kept in digital order). If we cheat and count 26 as one digit for the purpose of recording length (obviously we multiply by 12 still), then we only need to check 210680 numbers to check all numbers of length 230, and even that is double counting some numbers.

    • @Luxalpa
      @Luxalpa 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@manudude02 I would like to know how you got to that idea.
      I myself found a way to get up to length 1600 with fairly realistic effort (without requiring a super computer that is). Basically, the realization is that all chain numbers (i.e. all numbers except for the starter) must be N = 2^x * 3^y * 7^z. So you just need to go through all the x, y and z, find a number that doesn't contain 0 or 5, and then see if the multiplied digits result in any other of those numbers. With x, y, z < 1000 you only need to check 1 billion numbers. Storing them all on a hard disk would take some 1.6 TB of storage, however I think if you exclude all the numbers with 0 and 5 in it, the storage requirement will probably be much lower (I'll have to double check my math on that one or just learn Python and give it a try).

    • @senshi01
      @senshi01 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      I tried to make it all the way around, the program ask the number of steps and then calculate all the numbers... didn't succeed...

    • @manudude02
      @manudude02 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Luxalpa Obviously we are not going to have zeros or one and removing 5s (not checked, but I doubt you can avoid even numbers for long), but look at every 2-digit other case. I ignore any starts with a 7,8 or 9 in it since we are already in the "wall" in that case
      22 -> replace with 4 for 1 less digit
      23-> replace with 6 for 1 less digit
      24-> replace with an 8 for 1 less digit
      26-> unable to find a fault in it
      33-> replace with a 9 for 1 less digit
      34-> using 26 gives a smaller number with the same product
      36-> using 2 and a 9 gives a smaller number with the same product
      44-> using 2 and a 8 gives a smaller number with the same product
      66-> using 4 and a 9 gives a smaller number with the same product
      I started up a program (in java) about 10 minutes ago to check, so far it is has checked every candidate under 120 digits, but at least it scales by an order of N^2, while checking 2^x * 3^y * 7^z is scaling by an order of N^3.
      edit: Actually, I think your way may be more efficient if you don't have memory concerns, going from k=1000 to k=1001 gives you another 3 million-ish numbers to check, while going from 1600 to 1601 digits is another 9 million-ish numbers to check. You do have the downside in that you'd need to actually convert the x/y/z values into an actual number, but that's a small price to pay

  • @anguspure
    @anguspure ปีที่แล้ว

    Fantastic! Thanks. Something fun for my math struggling kids.

  • @dyllpickalio1700
    @dyllpickalio1700 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I love how he always has to put in the Parker Square.
    Matt will never live it down...

  • @st0rmforce
    @st0rmforce 5 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    I don't know why, but I love plucky little 77.
    77->49->36->18->8
    The longest run for a two-digit number.

    • @MusicalMatthew
      @MusicalMatthew 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Fun fact, in my 12th grade math class many years ago, the teacher had on the whiteboard (from a previous class) a complete the number sequence puzzle and it was 77, 49, 36, 18, ___ and I managed to get it in seconds. I've told so many people that one and very few have solved it without me telling them. So when I read out loud '77 - 49 - 36 - 18' I was like HEYYYYY I RECOGNIZE THAT PATTERN!

    • @gabrieleporru4443
      @gabrieleporru4443 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      It seems like it never wants to end

    • @gabrieleporru4443
      @gabrieleporru4443 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@MusicalMatthew well, okay, but it doesn't seem it was so difficult😂

    • @brightonpauli3916
      @brightonpauli3916 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@gabrieleporru4443 It never seems difficult when you know the answer lol

    • @MrRenanwill
      @MrRenanwill 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Factor this number in prime decomposition and then get the possible numbers that make 77 be true in their multiplication (arranging them in any order).

  • @ratclit
    @ratclit 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Line 2 of the program could have been simplified to if (n < 10)

  • @ralfiii
    @ralfiii 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Every time enjoyable. But in this case a technical question: How do you manage to paste code that contains empty lines into the console. That always fails on my machine as python tries to execute what it received so far after an empty line.

  • @MattiaConti
    @MattiaConti 5 ปีที่แล้ว +39

    if len(str(n)) == 1 is for nerds -> if n < 10 is for engineering

    • @besserwisser4055
      @besserwisser4055 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      pretty simple

    • @blueskyredkite
      @blueskyredkite 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That's definitely less stress on your processor. There are times I wish I knew languages other than Perl.

    • @erynn9770
      @erynn9770 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      len(str(n)) is what's directly defined ("if there's only one digit left"). n

    • @HyperSpify
      @HyperSpify 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      If you compile the code, str(n) is faster because you're going to call str(n) later on line 6 so the compiler will optimize it to compute it once and keep the result. Of course you can get rid of str(n) completely by using "% 10" (i.e. modulus 10) and "/10" in a loop instead to calculate "result", which I'm guessing is even faster.

    • @charlieangkor8649
      @charlieangkor8649 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Mattia Conti hes a mathematician. cannot do common sense. only complicated abstract concepts.

  • @piguy5450
    @piguy5450 5 ปีที่แล้ว +143

    As a python programmer, I appreciate the demonstration

    • @user-ob3nn3th7y
      @user-ob3nn3th7y 5 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      As a python programmer, i dont appreciate the continuation of python 2.

    • @kwinzman
      @kwinzman 5 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      len(str(n))==1 instead of just n

    • @dertyp6833
      @dertyp6833 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      print n
      return "DONE"
      How can appreciate this?

    • @AlexanderBukh
      @AlexanderBukh 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      pithon, ok

    • @primekrunkergamer188
      @primekrunkergamer188 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@kwinzman I know right completely unnecessary use of the length function. But its alright since he is not a programmer

  • @EHMM
    @EHMM 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Here's the code if you wanna do it yourself (in progress) :
    def per (n):
    if len(str(n))==1:
    print n
    return "done"
    digits = [int(i) for i in str(n)]
    result = 1
    for j in digits:
    result *= j
    print result
    per(result)

  • @wicowan
    @wicowan 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    If I understood well, the key to solving this is actually to prove that there exist (or doesn't) a number of 11 steps which his prime factors are only 2, 3 or 7. Then the number made up of its prime factors would be that new number who has only 2, 3 and 7. Then rearrange with these numbers 2,3,4,6,7,8,9 and the work is done.

    • @piercexlr878
      @piercexlr878 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Technically you could have a 5 and not a 2, but I'm sure there's a proof that could show otherwise. It's just a pain

  • @wompastompa3692
    @wompastompa3692 5 ปีที่แล้ว +68

    Just get rid of 'print n' if you don't want final result showing up twice.

    • @Septimus_ii
      @Septimus_ii 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      That throws up an error if the original number is only 1 digit, but that can easily be ignored or corrected

    • @kittyrules
      @kittyrules 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      no no keep it! this way it is Parker code.

    • @namelastname4077
      @namelastname4077 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      the method is recursive, so you only need one single print(n) on the first line

  • @jasper265
    @jasper265 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    For the deduplicating of the single-digit: removing the "print n" on line 3 would have done the trick...

    • @robheusd
      @robheusd 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      But then it wouldn't print the result for a single-digit number. Instead you should first do the non single-digit number and then only print the result once.

  • @ermanovnemachan3086
    @ermanovnemachan3086 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The prime factorization of each number (>20) in the list at 8:03 can be written as
    2^a * 3^b * 7^c (a,b,c >= 0)
    So the same will probably apply to the number with multiplication persistence of 12.
    But no idea how to get a computer to work out numbers with 200 digits...

    • @AA-100
      @AA-100 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      If I knew how to write code so that it does this:
      Take the number 277,777,788,888,899, replace some of the 8s with 2 4 or 2 2 2, and some of the 9s with 3 3, then add an arbitrary number of 1s at the end, then rearrange ALL the digits in that number, to get another new number, which is an even number
      The digits in this number will still multiply to the same value and still have a MP of 11.
      Now check if that number can be expressed as 2^a × 3^b × 7^c. If not, repeat the process
      Surely by pure luck, the computer will find such a number that is in the form 2^a × 3^b × 7^c
      Which will be the digits of a number with an MP of 12.

  • @AE-cc1yl
    @AE-cc1yl 4 ปีที่แล้ว +88

    The "print n" hurts my eyes
    This is a 2019 video, you were supposed to use python 3 :(

    • @BlueRaja
      @BlueRaja 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Also needs moar reduce()

    • @crashmatrix
      @crashmatrix 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@BlueRaja iterative programming is easier for most newbies to follow along with, I have a suspicion that Matt would reduce x,y: x*y on his own.

    • @rahimeozsoy4244
      @rahimeozsoy4244 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Lua is better

    • @crashmatrix
      @crashmatrix 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@rahimeozsoy4244 For select purposes, yes, just like python. "better" is subjective and intensely context sensitive. Please don't try to start flame wars.

    • @hexagonist23
      @hexagonist23 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@crashmatrix This is not programming, this is coding. Programming requires skill.

  • @MEver316
    @MEver316 5 ปีที่แล้ว +57

    I paused the video to try the challenge and went for 799->567->210->0
    I beat you Brady, but only just...
    EDIT: after watching the rest of the video I'm quite pleased with my 3 steps 😁.

    • @Anders1314
      @Anders1314 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Tha's atually 4. He counts the zero when he counts the 11 steps

    • @MEver316
      @MEver316 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Anders1314 I counted the 0 as well. I didn't count the 799 I started with though.

    • @Anders1314
      @Anders1314 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@MEver316 You're right. My mistake

    • @yesmannoman454
      @yesmannoman454 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Mine was 7879

    • @anandsuralkar2947
      @anandsuralkar2947 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Nice

  • @sherlockholmes4005
    @sherlockholmes4005 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    my favourite part of the video was when Matt looked at 5x4 and knew it was 20, but took a second to check in his head because he can't afford to get that wrong on camera. I have the same experience whenever I have to give simple change when working the till lol

  • @mxp9000
    @mxp9000 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    wrote a program after watching this to check only relevant values and was able to check up to 10^275 after about an hour only to find that 11 was still the most steps

  • @samarthbhat2317
    @samarthbhat2317 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Hey Brady, can u make a video on the different types of geometry and their relevance in modern mathematics?

  • @bg4567890
    @bg4567890 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    7:14 you don't need to have print(n) in line 3 where you have the check.... it already prints that result for you