We conclude our interview with Dana Richards, editor of Martin Gardner’s Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems pondering how to cut a hole through a cube large enough that another, same-sized cube can pass through!
That the worm falls off the end of the rope depends on the fact that the incredible
harmonic series
1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4 + . . .
diverges to infinity, growing as large as you please!
Dana Richards, editor of Martin Gardner’s Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems explains why the worm makes it, in only about 15,092,688,622,113,788,323,693,563,264,538,101,449,859,497 steps! (Give or take a few.) This incredible fact depends on the mysterious Harmonic Series, discussed a little more in our next post.
Dana Richards, editor of The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems discusses the amazing Martin Gardner and his legacy!
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