Blaise Pascal's triangle on the left has eight secrets. One is found by drawing shallow diagonals, revealing the Fibonacci Sequence on the right.
This came up during tutoring. Alexander learned what a perfect number is, a positive integer equal to the sum of its divisors (including one and excluding itself). Six is a perfect number: 6 = 1+2+3. Twenty-eight is a perfect number: 28 = 1+2+4+7+14. Then we learned that all even perfect numbers are triangular numbers. That is when Alexander reminded me, no, chastised me, about Pascal's triangle. Which boy forgets nothing? artwork courtesy of Wikipedia and David Tung on Quora
2 Comments
Josef Ketzer
9/23/2023 11:34:10 am
Really very fascinating indeed 👍👍👍! (When I was in a Jesuit high school - what's called a "gymnasium" in Austria is quite different to a "gym" - I feared and hated Math, but now as an old guy, I like it a lot, it's like the relation of dangerous wolves to beloved puppies...) 9/23/2023 11:38:50 am
Hi Joe: I was wondering when I would hear from you. Actually, I liked math until Calculus, and then the wolf crept in. I'm like you now. I really like all math, at least what I can grasp. Bobby Leave a Reply. |
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