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This is a proof that all natural numbers are interesting.
Suppose, for the sake of contradiction, that not all whole numbers are interesting. Using the well-ordering property of the whole numbers, among the non-interesting numbers there is a smallest non-interesting number N. But that would make N interesting, after all, a contradiction.
Therefore all numbers are interesting.
Thanks to Gerald for this submission!
Source: http://www.math.hmc.edu/funfacts/ffiles/20004.8.shtml
I’m a fan of good jokes and all, but that’s the oldest one in the book.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interesting_number_paradox
“224 (number), the smallest natural number which does not have its own Wikipedia article.”
Doesn’t that just prove that there exisits natural numbers that are interesting, not that all natural numbers are intersting?
No, he said “amongs the NON-interesting numbers”
Interesting joke…
After all, we can have “the smallest natural number, which wouldn’t be interesting otherwise”.
Math joke from the book “Almanac of mathematical curiosities” by Ian Stewart. The book is fantastic.
The problem is that once you declare that a given number is the smallest non-interesting number (which makes it interesting), it no longer is the smallest non-interesting number, which makes it no longer interesting, which makes it interesting, which makes it no longer interesting, which makes it….
Uuck Fou aou yll 😀 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛 🙁 🙁 👿 👿 ❗ 🙂 😯 😎 ➡ 😐 😥 😥 😥
😐 🙄 😈 😈 😆 😀 🙂 ❗ ❓ ❓ 😯 😕 😕 😎 😆 😡 😈 🙄 😉 💡 ➡
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