Where were you when your kid divided by 17?

1/17  = .[0588235294117647]

10/17 = .[5882352941176470]           

15/17 = .[8823529411764705]

14/17 = .[8235294117647058]           

4/17  = .[2352941176470588]           

6/17  = .[3529411764705882]           

9/17  = .[5294117647058823]           

5/17  = .[2941176470588235]           

16/17 = .[9411764705882352]           

7/17  = .[4117647058823529]

2/17  = .[1176470588235294]           

3/17  = .[1764705882352941]          

13/17 = .[7647058823529411]           

11/17 = .[6470588235294117]           

8/17  = .[4705882352941176]           

12/17 = .[7058823529411764]

My neighbour has a kid who has a calculator that according to the kid gives strange results. The other day my neighbour showed me the pattern above and asked with pleading eyes: How do you explain it?

Suddenly I remembered I had an imaginary meeting I was already late for.

From the pages of The Math Less Traveled.

One Response to “Where were you when your kid divided by 17?”

  1. Pseudonym Says:

    While we’re at it, split the string of digits in half and add:

    05882352
    94117647+
    ————–
    99999999

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