10
submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz to c/unexpectedfactorial@sopuli.xyz
no comments (yet)
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
there doesn't seem to be anything here
this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2024
10 points (100.0% liked)

Unexpected Factorial

124 readers
1 users here now

When you use an exclamation mark with a number, you’re actually implying it’s not a normal number any more. It’s a factorial!

Ok, so how does this work?

5!=1×2×3×4×5=120

6!=720

These numbers get really large. For example:

15!≈1.3×10^12

So, next time you see a headline with 2000! in it, you’ll know what to expect.

There are also double factorials (n!!) and iterated factorials (n!)!, and they aren’t the same thing. Just add more exclamation marks and you get multifactorial. Check wikipedia to see how spicy it gets.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS