LearnNBlog #15: Perfect Numbers

A Perfect Number is number which is the exact sum of all its factors excluding itself and including 1. 

The smallest such number is 6 whose factors 1, 2 & 3 add upto 6. Although there maybe a case of considering 1 as a Perfect Number, it is not included in the list of perfect numbers. 

In early times, numbers were classified as 

• Deficient – if the sum of its factors was less than the number 
• Perfect – if the sum of its factors was exactly the same as the number 
• Super abundant – If the sum of the factors exceeded the number itself 

Perfect numbers being very few were assigned mythical characteristics as well. 

Till date 50 such numbers have been discovered (List). So far none of the numbers have been found to be odd, all are even! However, with better computational powers search for more such numbers continues!

Other Links 

• Perfect Number (Britannica)
• Perfect Number (Wikipidea) 
• Mersenne Prime (Wikipidea) 

Previously on LearnNBlog: Because It’s There 

BookMarks #42: The War of the Worlds

Title: The War of the Worlds

Author: HG Wells

Genre: Science Fiction

Setting: Late 19th Century Britain

Published: 1998

Summary

The Martians invade Earth, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. No human forces seem able to contain the attack. Till they are finally laid low by the hostile environment of Earth.

BookMarks

We do not get to know of any of the major characters names. The story is told in bits and pieces through various accounts obtained by the narrator, who is a writer of philosophy and caught up in the events of the invasion of the Martians.

It is not a heroic tale, although we get to see bits of gallantry displayed all round but most of it ends up in disaster! Finally what saves the human species is not any ingenuity on their part but due to the Martians being unable to survive the terrestrial bacteria!

This is a tale of survival! The ones who survive are the ones who band together, stay hidden and camouflaged and run away at the appropriate time! Also, try not to worry about sacrificing a fellow human while managing their own survival.

“The War of the Worlds” set up the template for various alien invasion stories which Hollywood has kept rehashing for the last century. And there is the legendary radio broadcast, which set up near mass hysteria in its listeners about a Martian invasion!

HG Wells was certainly ahead of his time!

Previously on BookMarks – Measure What Matters