Can numbers be called palindromes?
Numbers which read the same backwards and forwards (e.g. 717), are they still called palindromes, or is there another word for numbers like that?
61-69, M
Top | Newest First | Oldest First
SW-User Best Comment
They are called palindromes, yes, or "palindromic numbers".
If you take a number that's not a palindrome and reverse its digits and add the two together, you will eventually get a palindrome, though it may take a few steps:
41 + 14 = 55 (one step)
57 + 75 = 132 + 231 = 363 (two steps)
Don't try this with the number 196, though. It's been done with over a billion steps and they still haven't found a palindrome.
If you take a number that's not a palindrome and reverse its digits and add the two together, you will eventually get a palindrome, though it may take a few steps:
41 + 14 = 55 (one step)
57 + 75 = 132 + 231 = 363 (two steps)
Don't try this with the number 196, though. It's been done with over a billion steps and they still haven't found a palindrome.
View 2 more replies »
NankerPhelge · 61-69, M
@SW-User I've never heard of Lychrel numbers before. That's a new one on me. I remember learning that 14 times 14 was 196.
SW-User
@NankerPhelge Yep. And 13 times 13 is 169. (and 31 times 31 is 961). I love noticing all these patterns. They call it "recreational mathematics". :)
NankerPhelge · 61-69, M
FloorGenAdm · 51-55, M
NankerPhelge · 61-69, M
@FloorGenAdm Radar. A palindrome. Did you mention that word deliberately? Lol :)
