If there was an award ceremony for great numbers there would quite a number of contenders on the red carpet.
Why 73 is the Best Number
As a number rich with fun facts, 73 is in with a good chance for this coveted title. It is the 21st prime, and 21 is also the product of 3 and 7. The other way around, 37, is the 12th prime: 12 being the mirror of 21, obviously, what a coincidence.
Another beautiful coincidence is that both the binary 21, being 10101, and 73, which is 1001001, are palindromes.
After being mentioned on the TV sit-com, The Big Bang Theory, 73 has generated a huge amount of interest and merchandise, almost a fan club. An interesting website dedicated to this sort of information on many prime numbers is Prime Curios!
Could 26 be a Favourite Number?
There are, of course plenty of other contenders for the accolade of best number.
Suite101 writer, Jon Plotkin explains why 26 is his favourite number in his article on Armstrong and Munchausen Numbers. 26 is neither of these, by the way, it is completely unique being the only integer sandwiched between the square of a number and the cube of a number.
Is 17 the Best Number?
Marcus de Sautoy, a famous British Mathematician, has the favourite number of 17. He says 17 is the maximum number of symmetries possible on wall paper. 17 is a Fermat Prime, therefore, a 17 sided geometric figure can be constructed with a straight edge and a pair of compasses (discovered by Gauss).
Mr de Sautoy may be following a trend. When 347 people were asked to randomly select a number between 1 and 20 a staggering 62 people choose 17 according to Dave Munger's Science Blog.
Why Choose a Best Number?
The best number debate is just fun. Having fun with numbers and other mathematical concepts is good in so many ways:
- it makes us think
- it entertains
- it is a social activity
- it can engage with people who are not interested in "maths" or do not know what a prime number is
- it is an ice-breaker topic among strangers.
What is Wrong with Transcendental Numbers Pi and e
Without doubt there are numbers which are truly amazing in the way they be used to analyse and explain phenomena in the real world, Pi and e being two examples. These irrational numbers are not even in the running for best number, however, and the reason is obvious, they are not whole numbers and they are not immediately simple to understand.
In the Big Bang Theory the actress/waitress, Penny, would get 26 and 73 whereas 17, pi and e are really for the mathematicians.
73 and 26 are whole integers and the features which make them special are readily understood by most people.
Deborah Percy - BSc. MA. Managing Director of a heating & plumbing business. Interest in maths, science & research. Mother of 3, including twins.
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