Month: December 2010

Q. Why can’t you tell a joke in octal? A. Because 7 10 11!

One of my colleagues came into my office the other day, and said to me: If p is prime and greater than 3, prove that p² – 1 is divisible by 24. Interested readers might want to try this for themselves: it’s not particularly difficult. Of course I started in right away. Immediately I thought:… Continue reading A maths diversion

Indeed. Imagine what a better place the world would be if John had been alive these last 30 years. Have a happy and peaceful holiday season, whatever you celebrate.