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Computing Science: A Question of Numbers

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Visit this site: http://www.amsci.org/amsci/issues/Comsci96/compsci96-01.html
Author:Brian Hayes; American Science
Description: An article about the ISC (Inverse Symbolic Calculator) and numbers. "In my daydream, Neil Sloane and Simon Plouffe are contestants on "Jeopardy," the TV game show. Sloane picks the category "Integer Sequences" for $400, and Alex Trebek reads the answer: "1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21...." Sloane instantly supplies the question: 'What are the Fibonacci numbers?' Later it is Plouffe's turn, and he selects 'Real Numbers' for $1,000. Trebek reads out an answer: "1.618033989," and Plouffe responds with the question: 'What is phi, or the golden mean--the limiting value of the ratio of successive Fibonacci numbers?'" In real life Sloane and Plouffe are not competitors but collaborators... The are coauthors of the new edition of the Handbook of Integer Sequences, published last year as the Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. It is a much-enlarged and enriched work, with more than 5,400 entries.
Levels: High School (9-12), College
Languages: English
Resource Types: Articles
Math Topics: Sequences and Sets

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