I thought it was evil spirits...
--- In
newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, Rick Blechta <rick@...>
wrote:
>
>
> On Jan 14, 2008, at 5:48 PM, Mike Dickson wrote:
>
> > Here's two clues:
> >
> > (1) does the table of symbols stay the same for every attempt?
> > (2) is there more than one way of getting the same symbol?
> >
> > Explanation:
> >
> > A two digit number - call it AB in general terms
> > In base 10, this actually means that the /value/ of the number
is
> > (10 x
> > A) plus B
> > So the number is is actually 10A + B
> >
> > Adding the digits together gives you (A + B)
> > and subtracing them from the general expression is
> >
> > (10A + B) - (A + B) = 10A + B - A - B = 9A
> >
> > So the answer is always going to be 9 times the first digit of
your
> > chosen two digit number. So you load the table with the same
symbol
> > for
> > all factors of nine and wait for jaws to drop.
>
> Damn! Another belief dashed on the hard rocks of science. I thought
it
> was magic...
>