3 ms·
I think Kanigel's book talks about this. It seems he had worked through first few thousand numbers and knew all of them quite well. Thus instead of a spark of g
by abhaga 15y ago
I think Kanigel's book talks about this. It seems he had worked through first few thousand numbers and knew all of them quite well. Thus instead of a spark of genius, this seems to be a fruit of years worth of hard work and an excellent memory.
- Someone 15y agoFew thousand? There are only 12 third powers below 1729: 1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343, 512, 729, 1000, 1331, 1728. Spotting that 729 + 1000 almost is equal to 1728 is not hard, either. Everybody who has computed that list will have noticed it. Translating that observation into a concise, interesting description is not hard, either, but it does require creativity. That, he had way more than most. I wonder what he would have said about the pair 3^5 and 7^3 (243 and 343)
- LearnYouALisp 15y agoThe first few thousand integers, and knew their properties quite well; that seems to be what is meant.