The nature of mathematics itself is in a certain sense eternal, and that’s why it’s so closely connected to the notion of time and age.
David Berlinski
Welcome to the blog Math1089 – Mathematics for All.
Imagine a scenario where you want to guess someone’s age, but instead of asking directly, you use a clever mathematical trick. This trick will allow you to calculate their age based on their response to a simple set of questions.
We all know our date of birth, and from that, we can calculate our current age. However, in this method, we will use a table that helps you guess someone’s age through a fun and engaging mathematical process. This table allows you to calculate an age up to 63 years old using simple addition. Here’s the trick:
You ask your friend to identify the rows in the table where their age appears. The rows are arranged in such a way that the numbers at the top of each column correspond to specific ages. Once your friend points out all the rows that include their age, you simply add the numbers at the top of those rows, and the sum will equal their age.
Let’s look at an example to understand this better.
Example 1
Suppose your friend is 23 years old. Now, you ask your friend to tell you in which rows the number 23 appears. By checking the table, you’ll see that the number 23 appears in the first, second, third, and fifth rows. The numbers at the top of these rows are 1, 2, 4, and 16, respectively. When you add these numbers together (1 + 2 + 4 + 16), you get 23, which is your friend’s age!
Example 2
Let’s take another example where your friend is 63 years old. Again, ask them which rows contain the number 63. This time, the number 63 appears in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth rows. The numbers at the top of these rows are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32. Adding these numbers together (1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32) gives you 63, which is your friend’s age.
Example 3
Finally, let’s say your friend is 37 years old. By following the same process, you’ll see that the number 37 appears in the first, third, and sixth rows. The top numbers for these rows are 1, 4, and 32. Adding them together (1 + 4 + 32) gives you 37.
In each case, by identifying the rows where your friend’s age appears and adding the top numbers, you can accurately calculate their age without directly asking for it. This method works because of the way numbers are organized in binary form, where each row represents a power of 2.
This mathematical trick is a fun and fascinating way to engage with numbers while surprising your friends with your age-detecting skills!
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