Sep 6 2023 - 44 The Number

 

Baxter typed in "44" so let's check it out. 44 is a repdigit and palindromic number in decimal. It is the tenth 10-happy number, and the fourth octahedral number. Repdigit? The word is a portmanteau of "repeated" and "digit". Examples are 11, 666, 4444, and 999999.   The concept of a repdigit has been studied under that name since at least 1974, and earlier Beiler (1966) called them "monodigit numbers".The Brazilian numbers were introduced later, in 1994, in the 9th Iberoamerican Mathematical Olympiad that took place in Fortaleza at Brazil. The first problem in this competition, proposed by Mexico, was as follows: A number n > 0 is called "Brazilian" if there exists an integer b such that 1 <  b < n – 1 for which the representation of n in base b is written with all equal digits. Prove that 1994 is Brazilian and that 1993 is not Brazilian. Palindromic? A palindromic number (also known as a numeral palindrome or a numeric palindrome) is a number (such as 16461) that remains the same when its digits are reversed.  Octahedral? An octahedral number belongs to a figurate number and it is the number of spheres in an octahedron built from closely packed spheres. First, a few octahedral numbers (where n = 0, 1, 2, 3…….) are 0, 1, 6, 19, and so on. Thanks Baxter, I had no idea there was so much meaning packed into 44.   Alternately, in terms of numbers, Baxter could be giving a clear and simple message that Angel 44 - one of the guardian angels - has chosen to show him that he is not alone, and that we who live with him are a blessing to him.   He lies on the  with his feet in the air, and ears over the keyboard.  Is it a repdigit day or an angel day?   One of the Denver convention layout scenes.

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Apr 14 2022 - Lucky so and so

 

The luckiest person in the world is commonly reported to be Frane Selak (1929 - 2016) from Croatia.  Not all of his seven survivals from brushes with death are verifiable.  A train, a car and a plane crash.  In the plane crash he was blown out of a malfunctioning plane door and landed in a stack of hay. What about when he was trying to teach his youngest son how to hold a gun.  He shot himself - in the testicles.  They didn't survive, but he did. He did have a lucky lottery moment - the moment that I am interested in: "In 2003, two days after his 73rd birthday, Frane Selak won a staggering $1.1 million in the Croatian National Lottery! While he bought two houses and a boat with it, Frane also used the money to buy a small chapel to thank the Lord for all of his fortune. After $1.1 million and the 7 near-death experiences, he better be thankful." All that survival from horrible events seems miraculous to me rather than lucky.  My sense of luck is the lottery kind of luck. That seems to attract us the most.  Here's the lucky lottery winner: "Did you know that the chance of you winning a lottery is 1 in 200 million? In fact, you are more likely to die getting struck by an asteroid than win a lottery. How would you explain Joan R. Ginther’s situation then? She won a lottery not once, but an unimaginable 4 times! Her life changed when she first won a cool $5.4 million, only to win $2 million more 10 years later. It doesn’t end there. 2 years later she won $3 million, and a staggering $10 million in 2008! " And a joke on the topic.  The lucky number 5 I was walking down the street a few days ago I happened upon my good friend Tim. I waved him over and told him I had the craziest dream the other night.  Tim listened as I told him that the dream consisted of just one thing. A huge, bright, number -5-. It was made of gold and shined like the sun. Tim's eyebrows went up with curiosity. I continued to tell him that the first thing I did that day was to look up the local horse racing track contenders.  Tim raised an eyebrow. I told him that the number 5 contender in the 5th race was named "The Fifth Element." Tim started grinning. Then I told him of what I did to make sure I get my luck working in my favor.  I ate 5 bowls of cereal for breakfast and drank 5 cups of orange juice  I went for a 5 mile jog to feel good.  I spent 5 minutes in the shower washing off.  I dressed in the 5th shirt I found.  I sat in my car for 5 minutes before beginning to drive, then I drove to the racetrack and parked in the 5th stall in the 5th row.  I entered through the 5th admissions gate and bought 5 programs.  I went to the 5th betting window and bet $555 on the 5th horse in the 5th race.  I went and sat in the 5th row of the bleachers making sure there were 5 people sitting on both sides of me.  I settled in and waited for the race to start.  "Well," said Tim. "Did your horse win??!?"  I frowned at Tim and said, "Stupid horse came in 5th."

_______________________________________________________________ Today's image is the Muscari flowers in motion blur. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

The March of Nines

A group or set of nine is an ennead - in ancient Egypt there was the group of 9 Egyptian deities known as the Ennead.  There are a number of cultures where nine is a significant number: In Indian culture, nine appears in Indian astrology where there are nine universal substances or elements in the Hindu philosophy:  earth, water, air, fire, ether, time, space, soul, and mind. According to yoga, the human body has nine doors - two eyes, two ears, the mouth, two nostrils, and the openings for defecation and procreation. In Chinese culture, nine is considered a good number, as it sounds like the word "long-lasting".  Nine is strongly associated with the Chinese dragon, a symbol of magic and power. There are nine forms of the dragon, and it is described in terms of nine attributes, has nine children, etc - all characteristics are multiples of 9.   In Greek mythology there were the nine Muses,  and the Romans had nine gods.  9 gods aliens is a tag for the notion that ancient astronauts have visited earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times. One claim is that deities from most, if not all, religions are extraterrestrial in origin.  The Erich Von Danker book Chariots of the Gods? was a best-seller on this topic. This idea is not taken seriously by academics. How important is the number 9?  The mystical numbers site had many references - some quirky and others intriguing.  There's a moment of humour on the website with a quote from Ronald Reagan:  The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "Im from the government and I'm here to help." The site also describes an interesting mathematical attribute:  when multiplied 9 always reproduces itself 9x2 =18    1+8 = 9 9x3 = 27    2+7 = 9 9x4 = 36    3+6 = 9 9x5 = 45    4 + 5 = 9