Selected papers on fun & games 9781575865843, 157586584X, 9781575865850, 1575865858

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mm mm mm mm mm mm mm

SeleBed Papers on “Tun

OCT

2011

& Qames

CSLI Lecture Notes Number 192

(Q

«

Selected ‘Tapers on

‘Tun

&

Qames

«

fa Donald

£QP$; P&gQ; £^5

T V

E.

Knuth

CSLI Publications Stanford. California

-Q

ep^

(p^5

(absolute)

Force

force which,

A

.

actin

when

causes for 1 kovac,

per of 1 potrzebie 1 1000000 b-al

it

to

kova.

fu*

=

Work Energy and 1 i

blintzal-potrzebie

onnnoo h

=

1

=

1

bah ^b)

Power

_ 1 whatmeworry hah per kovac folowhatmeworry =

1

1000 100

WMW

KWMW

-

=

aeolipower (A.P.

1

Radioactivity The

quantity of

of 1 blintz

(WMW) (KWMW)

L

vhich

is

i

rad

1

hyme

in equilibrium

(how’s your

Temperature optimum tem-

(S) — 100° Smurdley (27° C) eating halavah Tiprature for

m

and Measures

5

6

Fun and Games

Selected Papers on

Heat Energy The amount

of heat necessary to raise

blintz of halavah 1°

=

1000 v

1

S

=

1

1

vreeble (v)

large vreeble (V)

Counting

= =

48 things

49 things

1

MAD

1

baker’s

MAD

Angular Measure

= 1 zorch ('") = 1 zygo (§) = 1 circle or circumference

100 quircits ("") 100 zorch 100 zygo

('")

(§)

Miscellaneous Measurements speed of light

=

114441 Fp/kov

cowznofski

=

1.14441 x 10 12

1

light

1

vreeble

1

cosmo per square potrzebie

1

faraday

=

Fp

574.8 hah

=

3.1416 bumbles

=

1

122400 blobs/blintz equivalent weight electron-ech = 5.580 x 10“ 15 hoo

1

blintz molecular weight of a gas

density of 1

H2 O =

=

70.4

Kn

.3183 blintzes per ngogn (distilled water)

atmosphere pressure

=

1.4531 b/p 2

=

335.79 p of

Hg

=

3234.4 p per kov per kov downward force of 1 b = 3234.4 b-al gravity

Basic Conversion Factors

= =

1

inch

1

mile

1

potrzebie

(abbreviated table)

11.222 potrzebies .71105 furshlugginer potrzebies

=

1

2.2633 millimeters = .089108 inches = 2.2633 kilometers = 1.4064 miles = 4.4182 potrzebies = .44182 furshlugginer potrzebies ngogn = 11.59455 cc = .012252 quarts = 2.3523 teaspoons blintz = 36.42538361 grams kiloblintz = 80.3042 pounds furshlugginer blintz = 36.425 metric tons

1

wood =144 minutes

1

kovac

1

year

1

furshlugginer potrzebie

1

centimeter

1

kilometer

1

1 1

= .864 seconds = 3.6524 cowznofskis

1

watt = 3.456482 whatmeworries horsepower = 2.58 kilowhatmeworries aeolipower = 38.797 horsepower

1

vreeble

1

1

=

34.330 calories

The Potrzebie System

225 LAFAYETTE STREET

•

of Weights

NEW YORK

and Measures

NEW YORK

12,

•

CANAL 5-1894

February 18 , 1957 Mr. Don Knuth Caldwell A re. 71j. 36 W. Milwaukee 16, Wise.

Dear Don, Surprise. Bet you thought we forgot all about you. Actually, we held off "Potrzebie System" for two issues pending the realignment of our talent. We then made the changes necessary, and... It's coming out in MAD #33.

Illustrated by Wood. Credited to you. So, enclosed is a cheek for $25.00 for the rights to print it in MAD, with the slight changes.

Also, enclosed is a copy of No. 4., which you said you didn't hare. No. 5 wo don't even have* I

Thanks again for letting us use your revolutionary measuring system. We're sure its inclusion in MAD will mean absolutely nothing to the world of soienoe.

A1

Feldstein^

Editor

7

Fun and Games

Selected Papers on

8

Addendum When

I

devised this system in 1955

I

had absolutely no idea what the

word

‘potrzebie’ signified, if anything. I knew it only as a strangelooking jumble of letters that had been appearing regularly in as

MAD

a staple element of

learned that

I

me 19

it is

random weirdness.* Shortly

a clipping from page

November

(

afterwards, in college,

a not-uncommon word in Polish. Friends later sent

1A

of

The Milwaukee Journal dated Sunday,

19 1989, which began with the following banner headline:

‘Nasza ziemia znow w potrzebie’ Our homeland is again in need Lech Walesa)

—

The MAD true number of

typesetters accidentally dropped out a digit from the

millimeters per potrzebie; they printed it incorrectly as ‘2.263348517438173216473’. In a letter to the editor of the Case Tech in 1959, I pointed out that the correct number is easily memorized:

Just remember the poem “If by doubts you are much dismayed, this rhyme, a helping hand, was purveyed.” Then, assuming you can spell “purveyed,” just count the letters in each word and you get 2.2633484517438, correct to 14 places.

I’m pleased to have this opportunity to set the record straight, after more than 50 years. Readers who wonder where this fundamental constant arose should try to calculate the exact number of potrzebies in 9 inches, using the United States standard inch that was in force when I made the crucial initial measurements.

*

MAD

‘Potrzebie’ made its debut on the letters page of #10 (April 1954), reader wrote “Please tell me what in the world ‘Furshlugginer’ means.” Editor Kurtzman replied, “It means the same as Potrzebie.” One

when a

MAD

month later, Jack Davis included the word in his contribution to #11; Will Elder, Bernard Krigstein, and Wallace Wood followed suit in #12. Then #13 printed letters from four different readers, asking respectively for definitions of ‘furshlugginer’, ‘potrzebie’, ‘blintzes’,

swer: Perhaps

it

might

in question, such as,

They f

stuffed the furshlugginer blintzes with halavah?

taste like potrzebie!”

Between 1893 and 1959, the famous Mendenhall ter equals 39.37

inch

and ‘halavah’. Anusage of the words

be all explained by illustrating the

“Who

— which

is

US

inches, exactly.

precisely 2.54

cm

A

rule stipulated that

1

me-

simpler standard, the international

— was adopted

in

America on

1

July 1959.

Chapter 2 Official

Tables of the Potrzebie System

[The notes below, dated “Jugular 2, 13” (4 April 1956), were privately distributed in mimeographed form to members of the Wisconsin Junior

Academy of Science in

1956.

They served

as the source from which

MAD

editors subsequently extracted the article in the previous chapter.]

The Potrzebie System

of Weights and Measures

This new system of measuring, which

is destined to become the measuring system of the future, has decided improvements over the other

systems

now

common

It is based upon measurements taken on Milwaukee Lutheran High School, MilwauMAD Magazine #26 was determined to be 2.26334 84517 43817 32164 73780 74941 60547 91419 5114 mm. This unit is the basis for the entire system, and is called one potrzebie of length. The potrzebie has also been standardized at 3515.3516 wave lengths of the red line in the spectrum of cadmium. A complete table of the Potrzebie System is given below.

in

6-9-12 at the Physics

Lab

use.

of

kee, Wis.,

when

Length

(see ruler at right)

1

potrzebie

.000001 p 1000 fp =

= 1

the thickness of

= 1

thickness of

MAD

#26

farshimmelt potrzebie

(fp)

millipotrzebie (mp)

mp = 1 centipotrzebie (cp) 10 cp = 1 decipotrzebie (dp) 10 dp = 1 potrzebie (p) 10 p = 1 dekapotrzebie (Dp) 10 Dp = 1 hectopotrzebie (Hp) 10 Hp = 1 kilopotrzebie (Kp) 1000 Kp = 1 furshlugginer potrzebie 10

9

(Fp)

10

Selected Papers on

Fun and Games

Volume = 1 ngogn (n) = 1 farshimmelt ngogn (fn) = 1 millingogn (mtn) 10 mtn = 1 centingogn (cn) 10 cn = 1 decingogn (dn) 10 dn = 1 ngogn (n) 10 n = 1 dekangogn (Dn) 10 Dn = 1 hectongogn (Hn) 10 Hn = 1 kilongogn (Kn) 1000 Kn = 1 furshlugginer ngogn (Fn) 1

cubic dekapotrzebie

.000001 n

1000 fn

Mass

= 1 blintz (b) = 1 farshimmelt blintz (fb) = 1 milliblintz (mb) 10 mb = 1 centiblintz (cb) 10 cb = 1 deciblintz (db) 10 db = 1 blintz (b) 10 b = 1 dekablint.z (Db) 10 Db = 1 hectoblintz (Hb) 10 Hb = 1 kiloblintz (Kb) 1000 Kb = 1 furshlugginer blintz (Fb) 1

ngogn of halavah*

.000001 b

1000 fb

Time 1

average rotation of the earth on

= 1 wolverton = 1 severin (sev) 100 sev = 1 davis (dv) 100 dv = 1 wood (wd) 10 wd = 1 price (pr) 10 pr = 1 elder (el) 10 el = 1 kurtzman (k#) .00000001 pr

its

axis

=

1

price (pr)

(wl)

1000 wl

Date October

1,

calendar.

*

Halavah

1952

On is

is

the

the day

MAD was first published according to the old

new calendar

a form of pie, and

heat of .31416.

it

this

is

price

1

of

kurtzman

1.

Kurtzmans

has a specific gravity of 3.1416 and a specific

Official

Tables of the Potrzebie System

before this date are referred to as “Before

MAD

(K.M.).”

dar for each kurtzman contains 10 elders

follows:

Tales (Tal.)

1

6

2 Calculated (Cal.)

To

3

Force

A

The

calen-

Humor (Hum.)

7 In (In)

(To)

8

4 Drive (Dri.) 5

11

(B.M.)” and kurtzmans

Madi named as

after this date are referred to as “ Kurtzmano

A

(A)

9 Jugular (Jug.)

You (You)

10 Vein (Vei.)

(absolute)

force which,

causes

=

it

when

acting

upon

1

blintz of

to attain a velocity of

1

mass

for 1 severin,

potrzebie per severin

blintzal (b-al)

1

1000000 b-al

=

furshlugginer blintzal (Fb-al)

1

Energy and Work 1

blintzal-potrzebie

1000000 h

=

1

=

1

hoo

(h)

hah (hh)

Power 1

=

hah per severin

1000 100

WMW =

KWMW =

1

1

(WMW) (KWMW)

whatmeworry

kilowhatmeworry

1

aeolipower (A.P.)

Temperature 100° Smurdley (S) 0° S

=

= optimum temperature for eating halavah

(27° C)

absolute zero

Heat Energy The amount

= 1000 v

1

of heat necessary to raise one blintz of halavah 1° S

vreeble (v)

=

1

large vreeble (V)

Light Energy

The

intensity in a given direction of one square potrzebie of surface

body radiator at the temperature of freezing platinum (about 681° S), the surface being normal to the given direction,

of a black

=

1

cosmo

(cos)

12

Selected Papers on

The luminous

Fun and Games

produced

in a solid angle of one steradian by a uniform point source of one cosmo at the vertex of the angle

=

1

flux

shermlock (shr)

The quantity

of light that passes a cross section of a

in

one severin when the flux

=

1

beam

The illumination on a

surface

all

points of which are at a distance

of 1 kilopotrzebie from a uniform point source of one

=

1

=

1

of light

one shermlock

is

shermlock-severin (shr-sev)

cosmo

kilopotrzebie-cosmo, or potcosmo (pc) The average brightness of a surface emitting or reflecting light at the rate of one shermlock per square dekapotrzebie of actual surface

bumble (bum)

(The prefixes used

in mass,

volume, and length units are applied to

these units and those following to

Magnetism and

show

Electricity

a.

Magnetic Pole Strength. The strength of a pole that will repel an equal like pole at a distance of one potrzebie in a vacuum with a force of one blintzal

b.

Magnetic Field Intensity.

=

1

klek

The

intensity of a magnetic field

when a pole of one klek placed at the point acted upon by a force of one blintzal at a point

= c.

1

Magnetic Flux Density. at a point in a

= d.

1

is

The flux vacuum when the

schvester (sch), also called

e.

that

when

1

the flux density

is

one schvester

bentney (ben) bentneys

=

1

kilofurshlugginer bentney

(KFB)

Magnetomotive Force. The magnetomotive force producing the flux when one hoo of work is required to move a pole of one klek completely around a magnetic circuit against the field intensity

= f.

1 1 Vo

’

’

’

x

’

‘,

‘

’

’

‘,

‘

’

‘,

‘With a

’

’

’

’

’

‘,

L

l

(

,

’

x')

)

(4)

where IVi

=

‘chick’,

IV2

=

‘quack’,

W

4

—

W

3

‘oink’,

=

‘gobble’,

fV5

=

‘moo’, IV6

=

‘hee’,

(5)

and

W'k — 1

W

k

for

k

^

6;

W'G =

‘haw’.

(6)

Actually MacDonald’s priority has been disputed by some scholars; Peter Kennedy [8, p. 676] claims that “I Bought Myself a Cock” and similar farmyard songs are actually much older.

The Complexity

The song

of order

m

is

=

5o

Sm =

of Songs

35

defined by

e,

i? 2

(W" ) Vm

(7)

1,

where

W" =

W

‘chicks’,

2

W'l

The length n

=

Sm

of

= ‘ducks’, W3 = ‘turkeys’, = ‘pigs’, W5 = ‘cows’, Wq =

'

'

m + 180ra + 4(m/i +

30

2

4

b

while the length of the corresponding schema c

Here

Ik

= |

string x.

=

20

W

k

The

\

m + 211 +

+

‘donkeys’.

(5)

is

+ =

(li

|W^| and

•

•

•

+ m + l

Wj{\,

)

(

where

l

m) +

F am )

(ai H

(9)

is

ai

+

•

•

•

+ flm).

(

10 )

denotes the length of

\x\

|

result follows at once,

if

we assume

that

Ik

—

A and dk

=a

for all large k.

Note that the

coefficient (20

+ A + a)/\/30+2A

assumes

its

minimum

value at

A

=

max(l, a

—

10)

(11)

when a is fixed. Therefore if MacDonald’s farm animals long names they should make slightly shorter noises.

ultimately have

Similar results were achieved by a French Canadian ornithologist, his song schema “Alouette” [2, 15], and at about the same time by a Tyrolean butcher whose schema [5] is popularly called “1st das nicht ein Schnitzelbank?” Several other cumulative songs have been collected by Peter Kennedy 8 including “The Mallard” with seventeen

who named

.

[

] ,

and “The Barley Mow” with eighteen. More recent compositions, like “There’s a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea” and “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,” unfortunately have comparatively large verses

coefficients.

A

fundamental improvement was claimed

in

England

in 1824,

when

the true love of U. Jack gave to him a total of 12 ladies dancing, 22 lords a-leaping, 30

drummers drumming, 36

pipers piping, 40 maids a-milking,

42 swans a-swimming, 42 geese a-laying, 40 golden rings, 36 collie birds, 30 french hens, 22 turtle doves, and 12 partridges in pear trees during the twelve days of Christmas

m

2

/2

+ m/3

gifts in

m days,

[11, 12, 13].

when summed,

This amounted to

m 3/ +

so the complexity appeared

0 (y/n)- however, another researcher soon pointed out 10 that his computation was based on n gifts rather than on n units of singing. The correct complexity of order y/n/ log n was finally established (see [7]). to be

[

]

Fun and Games

Selected Papers on

36

Thus the partridge in the pear tree gave an improvement of only 1/ \/Iog n but the importance of this discovery should not be underestimated, since it showed that the rr 5 barrier could be broken. The next big breakthrough was in fact obtained by generalizing the partridge schema in a remarkably simple way. It was J. W. Blatz of Milwaukee, Wiscon;

who

sin,

discovered a class of songs

first

known

“m

as

on the Wall”; her elegant construction 2 appears first major result in the theory.

Bottles of Beer

in the following

proof

of the

Theorem

There exist songs of complexity O(logn).

1.

Consider the schema

Proof.

Vk =Tk

BW 7

Tk B V ‘If

one of those bottles should happen to

Tk - 1

B

fall,’

W‘.’

(12)

where

B—

W= Tk

and where space

is

is

required to define

Tk

.




more If

is

(...

x 2 y 2 Xiyix 0 yo) 2

more commonly

x\y,

.

called a “perfect shuffle”

see Eq. 7.1.3-(76) in

difficult to describe via

[1].)

The

0 where j s -\

x

~y —

(

>••> j\> jo,

selection

formulas, but

exactly s of the bits of y are equal to

1,

it

too

is

namely

then

x ji x j)2-

xjs-i

Of course x ~ 0 = 0. Notice that y ~ y — 2 s — 1. All numbers in INTERCAL are either short (16 bits) or long (32 bits), and they’re always nonnegative. Thus short numbers are always integers that are less than 65536; long numbers are always integers that are less than 4294967296. INTERCAL allows you to specify any short number by providing 65536 constants written respectively as #0, #1, It also allows you to use up to 65535 short variables, called .65535, which can take on any short number as .1, .2, a value; similarly it permits up to 65535 long variables, called :1, :2, 65535. There are 65535 short array variables ( ,1 through ,65535) and 65535 long array variables (;1 through 65535 ) too. Lotsa variables.

directly, .

.

.

#65535.

respectively

.

.

.

.

.

.

:

;

We’re ready now to look at a short (and very trivial) example of INTERCAL code. Line 01 of the program excerpt in Table 1 says that The remaining lines set the last ,16080 is an array with 15 elements. seven of those elements respectively to (0,6,41,136,322,999,999,999). Notice that each statement in Table 1 begins either with PLEASE, DO, or PLEASE DO.

These three

possibilities are interchangeable, except that the

TPK Table

1.

INTERCAL

in

Initializing part of a small array of short

01

PLEASE DO ,16080 )

(l-p)"

+-e k -

J

n

=

(n —

j

1

j0.4,

simple manipulation this relation

equivalent to

n > so the

(log 5)/ (log(l

number

+ 2/(m -

of elevators

2)))

=

^(m -

1)

+

0(l/m);

must be roughly proportional to the number

of floors!

The

following table shows the dependence of

n on m:

3

4

5

10

20

100

1000

2

3

4

8

16

80

804

Acknowledgments I

wish to thank Peter Weiner for some stimulating discussions of this I also wish to thank the referee for several suggestions

problem, and

that improved the presentation in this paper.

References [1]

George

Gamow

and Marvin Stern, Puzzle-Math (New York: Viking

Press, 1958). [2]

Donald E. Knuth, Fundamental Algorithms Volume 1 of The Art of Computer Programming (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison,

Wesley, 1968).

Chapter 13

Fibonacci Multiplication [Originally published in Applied

A

Mathematics Letters

1 (1988),

curious binary operation on the nonnegative integers

is

57-60.]

shown

to be

associative.

A

well-known theorem of Zeckendorf [1,3,4] states that every nonnegaunique representation as a sum of Fibonacci numbers, stipulate that no two consecutive Fibonacci numbers occur in the sum. In other words we can uniquely write tive integer has a if

we

n

= Fkr +

---

+ Fk2

+F

kl

»

kr

,

•

•

>k >h»

•

2

»

j" means that k > j where the relation “k numbers are defined as usual by the recurrence

Fo

=

Fi

0,

=

Fk = F

1,

fc

_!

+F

fc

+

_2

2.

r

0,

>

0,

(1)

The Fibonacci

>

for k

2.

(2)

Given the Zeckendorf representations

m = Fj let

F

-\

q

Fn

n

,

= Fkr +

f

Fkl

,

(3)

us define “circle multiplication” to be the following binary operation: r

q

Fj b +k c

(4)

6=1 c=l

In particular, Fj o

The purpose

Fk —

Fj +k

of this note

,

is

if

>

2

=

l

and k >2.

j to prove that circle multiplication satisfies

the associative law: (Z

o

m)

o

n

87

o

(m

o n)

(5)

Fun and Games

Selected Papers on

88

The proof is based on a variant of ordinary radix notation that Fibonacci numbers instead of powers. Let us write (

Then

ds

.

.

.

(d s ... dido )

dido)p

=

d s Fs

+

•

•

+ d\F\ +

•

doFo

a Zeckendorf representation

is

(6)

.

and only

if

uses

if

the

following three conditions hold: Zl.

Each

digit di

Z2.

Each

pair of adjacent digits satisfies d*+idj

Z3. d\

=

do

—

is

0 or

1.

=

0.

0.

For example, here are the Zeckendorf representations for the numbers

= = 3 = 4 = 5 = 6 = 7 = 8 =

(ioo) F

9

(1000) F

10

(10000)f

11

(10100) F

12= 13 =

Addition of (thereby adding

(

(

(100100) F

14

(101000) F

15

1000000) F

16

1 is 1

100000) F

We

easy in radix-F:

(1000100) F (1001000) F (1010000) F (1010100) F

(10000000) F

= = =

(10000100) F (10001000) F (10010000) F

simply set di 0. Since rule (9) is no longer applicable,

1 for all

=

just described transforms (ds that satisfies Z1 and Z2.

The

Proof.

result

is

process applied to (d s

with

all d!i

into (d't

with

.

.

< d'3

.

(8) will

have d 3

—

.

.

.

>

i

0 and d

t

2.




2 for alii

2,

the carrying process

d 1 d 0 ) F into a sequence

vacuously true when

s




d 3 0 0) F inductively produces hence the sequence (d s d 3 d 2 dido) F .

.

(d't

1,

(d't

.

.

.

djd'0 ) F

the carrying .

.

d':i d'2 d'x

.

)

F

transformed d 2 + d'2 < 1 or if d'3 = 1, further carries lead to termination without changing d[. Otherwise we 1;

.

(d 2 +d'2 )d[do) F

0 and 2

rule (9) sets do

< d2 1

3.

If d!x

and only Os and

The addition procedure

.

is

If


0. Thus we have n = ( 1 0 0)j? with n zeros after

of n,

.

.

.

.

,

the rightmost

Lemma

1.

m+

Moreover,

m>

also define 0

=

oo.

and n > 4, the radix-F addition n > min(m, n) — 2.

If

2.

We

4

rn

+n

is

clean.

Proof. Lemma 1 shows that radix-F addition never reduces the number of trailing zeros by more than 2.

Thus,

it

for

is

m

o n has a natural radix-F interpretation, completely analogous to ordinary binary multiplication.

Circle multiplication

because

example,

6 o 12

= =

(100100) F o (1010100) F

(10010000) F

+ +

(1001000000) F

(100100000000) F

(10)

Fun and Games

Selected Papers on

90

because we have j'2 = 5, notation of (3); the three for c

=

1, 2, 3.

—

j\

is

if

=

k2

4,

m F o

kc

and fci = 2 in the sums X^b=i Fj b + k .

easy to see that circle multiplica-

it

monotonic:

l

increase the

left

l

m o n,

n


for

Lemma

3.

Radix-F addition of the partial products of

Proof.

The

partial product

k r 3> Ay - 1

Ay

mo Fk

we have,

.

has

is

clean.

Since

fc

successively,

>

fc r

_x

,

2

>

Ay_ 2

,

1

>

fci

1

1-

Lemma

2; all

Theorem.

of these additions are spanking clean.

Let the Zeckendorf representations of

— m= n — ^

Then the

mo n

mo Fk = m + > k + 2.

m o Fkr +m o Fkr _ m o Fkr + to o Fkrl + mo Fkr _ mo Fkr H ... m o Ffe by

(11)

0.

every partial product increases.

Fi p

+

Fj q

-\

Fk r

•

i

+

'

three-fold circle product p

(lom)on =

+ Fi a + Fi b Fj 2 + Fjl + Fk2 + Fkl

•

•

1

m, and n be

,

.

the three-fold

is

l,

,

sum

t

J2J2J2 F

ia +j b +k c

-

(

12 )

a= 1 6=1 c= 1

By Lemma 3, each partial product (/ o m) o Fk can be obtained Proof. by a clean addition of the partial products (/ o Fj) o Fk of l o to, shifted left k. Hence (lom)oFk = Fi a+ j b+k and the result follows YZ=i i by summing over k = Ay Ay

EL

.

.

,

Since the

sum

in (12)

must be associative

We

.

is

,

.

symmetric

in

l,

to,

and

n, the circle

product

as claimed in (5).

can extend the proof of

Lemma 3

without difficulty to show that

the three- fold addition in (12) is clean. Hence we obtain a similar t-fold sum for the t-fold circle product of any t numbers.

Fibonacci Multiplication

Fk

The Fibonacci number

+

“golden ratio” (1

is

asymptotically

y/Z )/2; hence

FjoFk ~ VZFjFk, follows that the circle product

k cj)

/\/Z,

where

(j>

is

91 the

we have as

j,

k

—

>•

oo.

(13)

mon is approximately yfh mn

as 2.24mn and n are large. But 1 o n is closer to as 2.62 n; and 2 o n is approximately 3 n « 2.12(2n). This paper was inspired by recent work of Porta and Stolarsky [2] who made the remarkable discovery that the more complicated operation It

when

to

to * is

n

= mn +

[4>m\

[(/)n\

associative. Their “star product” satisfies to *

n

as

3.62 mn.

This research was supported in part by National Science Foundation grant CCR-8610181, and in part by Office of Naval Research contract N00014-87-K-0502.

References [1]

C. G. Lekkerkerker, “Voorstelling van natuurlijke getallen door een

som van [2]

[3]

E.

Simon Stevin 29

(1952), 190-195.

Zeckendorf,

somme de [4]

getallen van Fibonacci,”

A. S. Fraenkel, H. Porta, and K. B. Stolarsky, “Some arithmetical semigroups,” Progress in Mathematics 85 (1990), 255-264.

“Representation des nombres naturels par une de nombres de Fibonacci ou de nombres de Lucas,” Bulletin Royale des Sciences de Liege 41 (1972), 179-182.

la Societe

“A generalized Fibonacci numeration,” Fibonacci

E. Zeckendorf,

Quarterly 10 (1972), 365-372.

Addendum Zeckendorf’s representation can actually be traced back hundreds of where the anonymous author of Prakrta

years to medieval India,

Paingala

(c.

1320) presented algorithms for the equivalent problem of

finding the nth possible syllable

and TO’

rhythm

in Sanskrit poetry.

given total

number

Using

a long syllable, the possibilities are

for

1010, 10000, 10010, etc., preceded

‘0’

for a short

0, 10, 100,

1000,

by as many 0s as needed to make a

of beats.

Yuri Matijasevich wrote to

had devised the operation product in his paper

“Two

mon

me on

1

May

1990 to point out that he

already in 1967.

He

called

it

the indirect

reductions of Hilbert’s tenth problem” [Sem-

inars in Mathematics, V. A. Steklov Mathematical Institute 8 (1970), 68-74, which is a translation of his original Russian article in 3a nncKH

Haynnhix CeMHHapoB JIeimurpajiCKoro O'rpejienmi MaTeMarmecKoro IlHCTHTyra HMemi B. A. CreKsiOBti 8 (1968), 145-158].

Fun and Games

Selected Papers on

92

known

Matijasevich had not

he sent

me

that his multiplication

associative;

is

the following elegant algebraic proof of associativity, to com-

plement the algorithmic proof that representation

(1), let

Ffcr+1

n=

-|

tained from n by shifting the bits d s

well-known identity

had found:

I

.

.

n has the Zeckendorf \-Fk2+x +Fkl+ i be the number obd 0 of (6) left one place. Then the .

Fk +i = Fk+1 F + F t

If

fe

F)_i

= Fk+1 F + Fk Fi+1 - Fk F t

t

implies that

mon =

run

+ mn — mn.

= (lom)n+(lom)n—(lom)n — + m(ln + In — 2 In) + m(ln — In — In + In)

Hence (lom)on

(lorh)n-\-{lom)(ji—n)

is symmetric in l and n, must be equal to lo(mon). Indeed, if we also let n — n — n denote the operation of shifting n’s

id

n

so

it

Zeckendorf representation one place to the

mon —

lomon — Imn + lmn — Moreover, n

=

-

+

|_(n

and n

1

right,

we

discover that

mn = mn + mn + mn

rhn —

=

;

lmn. |_(n

+

1)/— 1 < a n multiplication.

is

the Zeckendorf representation of n

nfi+n, where (d s

—

(1

—

by

satisfied




dido)

—l/\

,

all lie in ,

.

.

}

is

the interval

closed under

a m a n — a mon gives a very nice way product and why it is associative; that is,

Thus the

understand the

tj>.

...

=

\Jh)j2

rule

to

.

+ n) = (m o n)$ + to q n

+

(mcf)

.

Generalizations of his results to other numbers 9 instead of

where 6 any so-called “Pisot number” (an algebraic integer > 1 whose conall lie inside the unit circle) have been found by P. J. Grabner, A. Petho, R. F. Tichy, and G. J. Woeginger, “Associativity of recurrence multiplication,” Applied Mathematics Letters 7 (1994), 85-90. ,

is

jugates

Note

to hackers: If

x

=

(d s

.

.

did 0 ) 2 corresponds to the Zeckendorf

representation of n, the following bitwise operations will cleverly convert it

to the representation of

y users, backslashes and curly

T^X

braces are lacking too.

But hey, $720=6 $ in this state. Calculus and physics teachers can have $dx/dt$, etc. (All special characters are ignored when comparing two plates; thus 7206 and dxdt would be indistinguishable !

from those examples, and so would #7+2/0-6 and dx/dt?, both of which happen to be presently available subject to approval by the authorities.)

I wonder if a fallacious proposition like $120=6!$ would also be acceptable to the North Carolina censors. Probably it would, thereby setting back education in the Southeast. Even worse, I fear that somebody will ask for BADQMATH and be proud to display it. But let’s not be

Selected Papers on

134

pessimistic;

everybody

Fun and Games

North Carolina deserves applause

for leaping

way ahead

of

else.

Besides ordinary punctuation, a few special characters are also available. New Mexico has an enchanting Zia Sun symbol, which their website illustrates

shape of

with the example VANOITY.

its

empire, which

I

New York

a blob in the

offers

won’t illustrate here.

Since 1994, California has allowed a single delimiter to appear on vanity plates, taking the place of a letter or digit. There are four choices:

Drivers can use either a plus sign or one of the unique symbols {#,*,»}. The senior co-editor-in-chief of this journal could be CiULER D if he moved to California; Steve

rently

up

The

Smale could be tLE BODY. Both of these are curIVMATHS, and L*SPACE.

for grabs, as are X+IY.

(I mean blank spaces, not L*-spaces) are too complicated to explain here. Suffice it to say that most states allow you to insert them in order to improve readability.

rules for spaces

Examples on the Road now at how some mathematicians and/or their friends have by meeting these constraints. Cathy Seeley, who was president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) from 2004 to 2006, likes her license plate so Let’s look

risen to the occasion

much

that she included

it

in

an illustrated lecture that

I

found on the

Internet:

a c%?msth

_

TEXAS

Hi

*

DO-MATH and

can

d