Can You Solve My Problems? by Alex Bellos

Author:Alex Bellos [Alex Bellos]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781783351169
Publisher: Guardian Faber Publishing
Published: 2016-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

Think of a number.

The number must be a three-digit number in which the first and last digits differ by at least two. So, for example, 258.

Reverse this number and calculate the difference between the two numbers you have:

In my example, 852 – 258 = 594.

Add this number to its reverse: 594 + 495.

The answer is 1,089.

Now try this process again with a different number: reverse it, calculate the difference, add this number to its reverse, and…

You guessed it! The answer is 1,089.

Whichever three-digit number you start with you will always get 1,089, which is pretty cool the first time you try it out.

And there is another reason why 1,089 is arithmetically notable.

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