There is no such thing as magic, but I recently saw a video showing me magic. Here it goes, you can learn this “trick” in minutes, and wow your friends.
The number 6174 is special. Keep that in mind.
Choose any four digit number, as long as all four digits do not repeat. 1234 is fine, but 3333 is not.
For an example, I choose 3573. (any number will work — you will check this soon)
So, our number is 3573. Rearrange this in HI to LOW order, 3573 becomes 7533.
7533 minus the “reverse”, so
7533 — 3357 = 4176.
Rearrange this in HI to LOW order.
4176 becomes 7641. 7641 minus the “reverse”, or
7641 — 1467 = 6174
What was our “magic number”? It’s in red up top.
You choose another number, go ahead.
Okay, I will. Follow this.
8127 becomes… 8721
8721 — 1278 = 7443
7433 is already in HI LOW order, so
7433 — 3347 = 4096
4096 becomes 9640.
9640 — 0469 = 9171
9171 becomes 9711.
9711 — 1179 = 8352.
8352 is already in order, it “stays” 8532.
8532 — 2358 = 6174 Magic, right?
Go ahead, try it. Just remember, you can’t start with 4 identical digits. Sometimes it’s quick, sometimes it takes a few steps. Use a calculator. Write the numbers down on paper, and don’t transpose them.
I did not make this up, I saw it on Numberphile. I subscribe to this channel on You Tube. It’s all about math.
Magic!
6174 is called Kaprekar’s Constant.
It’s named after the Indian mathematician D. R. Kaprekar who discovered this!
