4 ms·
dunno, but it's neat to think about. multiplication can cover more ground in integer space than addition, so it can reach more unique places than addition for a
by clairity 8y ago
dunno, but it's neat to think about. multiplication can cover more ground in integer space than addition, so it can reach more unique places than addition for a given set of numbers. it's kinda like comparing how many squares knights and pawns can reach on a chessboard for a given number of moves.
- Dylan16807 8y agoIf you give well-spaced source numbers, they can reach the same number of spaces. For products it's easy: distinct prime numbers. For addition you can pick numbers so that each one is at least [previous number] x [number of moves] + 1. To keep it extra simple go with [number of moves + 1]^n. So this is very easy if the number of moves is known upfront, and impossible if it's not. And in the source puzzle the number of moves is always 2.