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What's the Problem with Maths?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

David Acheson
David Acheson*
Affiliation:
Jesus College, Turl Street, Oxford OX1 3DW
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Extract

Mathematics is full of wonder and surprise, and I had my first big mathematical surprise at the age of 10, in 1956.

I was keen on conjuring at the time, and came across the following ‘mind-reading’ trick un a book.

Write down a 3-figure number.

Any such number will do, as long as the first and last figures differ by 2 or more.

Now reverse your number, and subtract the smaller 3-figure number from the larger.

Type
The Presidential Address
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 95 , Issue 534 , November 2011 , pp. 385 - 394
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 2011

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