Uncle Paul, as Palibaci was known to all, loved epsilons. He would take a pill bottle from his pocket, hold it high in the air, drop it, and catch it. The epsilon being entertained would laugh, and Paul would generate great joy.
There is a new book about his life: The Boy Who Loved Math: a lovely little book, which Skibo loved when I gave it to him a few days ago.
This morning, I discussed prime numbers with Skibo -- he's still a year younger, according to the book, than Palibaci was when he encountered them for the first time: I had Skibo construct the sieve of Eratosthenes for the numbers up to fifty, then had him discover that all the composites, the ones he had struck out, were indeed the product of smaller numbers, and that the primes, the remaining numbers, were not. And the best part of all? The fact that I think that he really got what I was saying:-)
Yours, initiating the prime directive
N.
There is a new book about his life: The Boy Who Loved Math: a lovely little book, which Skibo loved when I gave it to him a few days ago.
This morning, I discussed prime numbers with Skibo -- he's still a year younger, according to the book, than Palibaci was when he encountered them for the first time: I had Skibo construct the sieve of Eratosthenes for the numbers up to fifty, then had him discover that all the composites, the ones he had struck out, were indeed the product of smaller numbers, and that the primes, the remaining numbers, were not. And the best part of all? The fact that I think that he really got what I was saying:-)
Yours, initiating the prime directive
N.
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