Fun with Numbers
(Yeah Right!)
One day, I was bored and decided to wander around the building. My trip led me to the 5th floor (I could have gone to the 6th floor, but who would do that?) For no apparent reason, I look up at the room numbers of the offices there. I walked by most of them, but one of them drew me to take a look because of what was printed on it. Instead of the room number, it says "DIE" (of course, we all have thoughts that professors are not living beings). I took a closer look and realized that the sign is only the office's room number written in a base other than 10. I'm not going to tell you what it is based on — I don't want to ruin the fun.
Like many of you, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the numbers profs throw at us. But remember, a love of numbers is probably why we were drawn to like math in the first place (back when we were young'uns). So I decided to have a little fun with some of the rooms in the MC and write their room numbers in different bases to see if anything interesting came up.
The following are the best I could find:
- MC 1052 (CHIP)
UW34 — The CHIP provides a multitude of licensed software to faculty, staff, and students alike. The only problem is that they are often the only supplier on campus.
- MC 2018 (The computer store)
1PC34 — Very often, all you see in the computer store is a handful of PC's (and Mac's).
1MN35 — mathNEWS are rarely seen in the store, or maybe I don't go to the computer store on Fridays.
- MC 3018 (The Real-Time Lab)
7AI20, 3AI30 — I don't think I'll ever enter there (I'm not in CS), but after hearing about the horror stories from someone who had, I don't think I'm missing much. Many call it the hardest course among the undergrad courses. So is it 3 or 7 times harder than AI? You be the judge.
- MC 3038 (MathSoc Office)
4CM26 — The services MathSoc provides are usually for current mathies, even though the workers usually don't care what faculty you're in.
- MC 3041 (mathNEWS broom closet)
BE116 — Behind the door, dedicated mathNEWS staff are working hard toward the goal of being the number one publication on campus.
- MC 5115 (MUO)
4EF34 — Very often we are frustrated by the faculty's policy on the co-op process (thank goodness I'm in regular). While the people there may not have all the answers, they refer you to someone who does. I have to give them credit for their effort.
- MC 7056 (Mark McDermot's office)
533511 — A palindrome in a base that is a palindrome. Spooky.
177117 — I had no idea that the number can be written as a palindrome whose first half is the same as the number it is based on (I know, this sentence makes no sense).
The above is a VERY crude sample of how room numbers in the MC can be expressed creatively. Granted, I'm not a very creative person, and I am sure that many of you can come up with better ones than I do. If you know of a room in MC whose number can be written creatively, send it in. Who knows? Maybe we'll publish it. I know, this may not be a very entertaining idea for an article, but reading this in class is still more fun than writing down notes.
Jason "the Screamer" Lau
Am I boring or what?