6 ms·

I gotta be that guy: Why is this the first post on the front page of Hacker News? Is basic arithmetic really so fascinating to the computer people?

adt2bt 13y ago
I hope you can see why this example of basic arithmetic is really neat. It reminds us that there are hidden patterns everywhere. Oftentimes, we can determine why the pattern exists with math. It never hurts to be reminded how cool it is to learn.
arbitrage 13y ago
In fact, you do not have to be that guy. Different people find different things interesting; just let it go.
- bnegreve 13y ago
  True, however, I am also surprised that it's getting this much attention.
pg_is_a_butt 13y ago
looks like someone doesn't understand anything about number theory and how computer's actually work with number representations to make your stupid fucking twitterbook feed work. you're an idiot.
pg_is_a_butt 13y ago
looks like someone doesn't understand anything about number theory and how computers actually work with number representations to make your stupid fucking twitterbook feed work. you're an idiot.
dwaltrip 13y ago
There is a little more going on here than basic arithmetic. See the top comment for further evidence: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7144804 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7144804. But yes, non-math-geeks will probably find this uninteresting. Apparently HN has a lot of math geeks ;)
Aloisius 13y ago
If more math geeks thought these patterns were religious, we could call this Numerology. We could probably make the case that there are an infinite number of "interesting" patterns that can be generated as the result of "simple" arithmetic. That math geeks assign meaning to these numbers such as as proof of a sane, beautiful universe or a universe with a sense of humor is just human nature. See also the Interesting number paradox[1]. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interesting_number_paradox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interesting_number_paradox
endgame 13y ago
After endless stuff on startups, basic arithmetic is a breath of fresh air.
marcosdumay 13y ago
I'd say that hackers are fascinated by neat tricks. Arithmetic tricks are just a subset of those.

adt2bt 13y ago

I hope you can see why this example of basic arithmetic is really neat. It reminds us that there are hidden patterns everywhere. Oftentimes, we can determine why the pattern exists with math. It never hurts to be reminded how cool it is to learn.

arbitrage 13y ago

In fact, you do not have to be that guy. Different people find different things interesting; just let it go.

bnegreve 13y ago
True, however, I am also surprised that it's getting this much attention.

pg_is_a_butt 13y ago

looks like someone doesn't understand anything about number theory and how computer's actually work with number representations to make your stupid fucking twitterbook feed work. you're an idiot.

pg_is_a_butt 13y ago

looks like someone doesn't understand anything about number theory and how computers actually work with number representations to make your stupid fucking twitterbook feed work. you're an idiot.

dwaltrip 13y ago

There is a little more going on here than basic arithmetic. See the top comment for further evidence: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7144804 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7144804. But yes, non-math-geeks will probably find this uninteresting. Apparently HN has a lot of math geeks ;)

Aloisius 13y ago

If more math geeks thought these patterns were religious, we could call this Numerology. We could probably make the case that there are an infinite number of "interesting" patterns that can be generated as the result of "simple" arithmetic. That math geeks assign meaning to these numbers such as as proof of a sane, beautiful universe or a universe with a sense of humor is just human nature. See also the Interesting number paradox[1]. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interesting_number_paradox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interesting_number_paradox

endgame 13y ago

After endless stuff on startups, basic arithmetic is a breath of fresh air.

marcosdumay 13y ago

I'd say that hackers are fascinated by neat tricks. Arithmetic tricks are just a subset of those.