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Topic: Reversible numbers (Read 3416 times) |
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adelaa
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Riddle:
A girl asks her father to go to the movies. He says they can go if she tells him 3 reversible numbers. She thinks for a while and says, "nineteen, twenty and thirty." The father then says, "yes we can go." Why? (reversible as in 1001, same forwards and backwards)
If anyone knows the answer email me: adelina@umail.ucsb.edu
// thread title changed by towr
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| « Last Edit: Oct 8th, 2003, 11:37am by towr » |
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Kitty
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Re: I need help with this riddle
« Reply #1 on: Oct 8th, 2003, 11:11am » |
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If the human brain was simple enough for us to understand, we would still be so stupid that we couldn't understand it.~Kant (1724-1804)
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Speaker
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #2 on: Oct 9th, 2003, 12:45am » |
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The father, as well as the daughter, have a twisted sense of arithmatic. They have translated the numbers into binary and then rotated them 90 degrees. Because the numbers consist of nothing but zeros and ones they are reversible in this orientation.
Alternatively, and especially because this riddle is in the what happened forum. The father, was trying to get his daughter to use her head for something other than a place to keep her hat, so he asked her this riddle. Then, she answered it completely wrong. Afterall, she just needed to say 11, 22, and 212. Or something. Well the father did not want to cause his daughter to lose any of her self esteem, so, he pretended that she had answered correctly. Also, the father wanted to go to the movie too. Which was the first step on the eventual collapse of civilization as soon the entire planet was unable to tell right from left so that people were driving on both sides of the road crashing into one another, knives and forks were placed on the wrong side of plates resulting in fatal wounds to left hands across the globe, except in some parts of Asia, which was not saved from the horror because now people waiting to get on crowded trains forgot to stand on the right, or was it the left, and people getting off crowded trains ran smack into them right in the middle of rush hour when people are liable to lose their patience for the slightest thing and get so angry that they do something dire and they cannot relax because to have a drink after work they cannot recall whether to turn the cap on the bottle to the left or the right so they go out to a bar where the bartender is having the same trouble, which they would find out if they could just remember how to get there, so only people who live in front of places they want to go can go to them, causing the economy to collapse because consumer spending falls through the floor and not only because many men cannot find their wallets although they remember putting it in their pocket, but just cannot figure out whether it was the one on that side or the other side, until finally with the world a shambles, the dyslexics take over and bring peace and happiness to all. 
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towr
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #3 on: Oct 9th, 2003, 2:19am » |
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::any number x > 1 is 11 in base (x-1) and thus reversible
so basicly any number would be ok..::
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Speaker
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #4 on: Oct 9th, 2003, 2:23am » |
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So, the numbers are in base 18, base 19, and base 29. Well, I said they had a twisted sense of math. Well, now the world is safe. 
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They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. <Ben Franklin>
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towr
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #5 on: Oct 9th, 2003, 3:17am » |
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well I don't know if what I gave is the 'correct' (intended) answer, but it fits..
There's probably a dozen other possible answers, some of which may still threaten the safety of the earth 
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Speaker
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #6 on: Oct 9th, 2003, 6:02pm » |
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You know, when I tried to figure this out I came up with the following possibilities for 19:
10011
201
34
23
13
One of which I was sure was going to be correct. So, your answer seems pretty good to me. If I had just been a little more determined, and extended my method 15 or so more steps.
Another question. How do you pronounce numbers in binary? In decimal, we have 19, nineteen, nin-'ten (with bars over the i and e).
So, what do you have for 10011?
Ten thousand eleven
Onezerozerooneone
Aonetwozerosandtwoones
Nineteeninbinary
Kind of a joke, but still curious 
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Icarus
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #7 on: Oct 9th, 2003, 6:30pm » |
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"one-oh-oh-one-one" is the only naming convention I've ever heard.
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"Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed? " - Anonymous
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visitor
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I'm guessing you've made a mistake in the wording of the riddle. If you change one word, then there would be a much simpler, more logical answer than what's been suggested. Maybe it lost something in the translation.
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Speaker
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #9 on: Oct 9th, 2003, 6:58pm » |
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It seems pretty straight forward. What one word would you change?
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They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. <Ben Franklin>
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visitor
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Well, I'm pretty sure (warning: big hint) they weren't planning to go to the movies.
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Rodney Shultz
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Easy, Roman Numerals!
Rodney
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Icarus
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #12 on: Oct 11th, 2003, 6:51pm » |
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D'OH 
Good job, Rodney! And you're right, it was easy!
I hate it when I overlook the obvious!
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"Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed? " - Anonymous
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towr
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #13 on: Oct 12th, 2003, 7:15am » |
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on Oct 9th, 2003, 10:24pm, visitor wrote:| Well, I'm pretty sure (warning: big hint) they weren't planning to go to the movies. |
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So... you were thinking theater, perhaps?
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Sir Col
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #14 on: Oct 12th, 2003, 9:51am » |
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Rodney, you legend!
I think visitor was thinking what I was thinking too: the girl didn't want to go to the cinema and was hoping that her hopelessly wrong answer would get her off the hook. However, her father saw through it and took her anyway.
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mathschallenge.net / projecteuler.net
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Speaker
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Re: Reversible numbers
« Reply #15 on: Oct 13th, 2003, 6:20pm » |
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Well done Rodney.
I stand in awe.
Yuck, now its all over my shoes.
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They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. <Ben Franklin>
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