GEMS February 7th Session
February 7 @ 10:00 am - 11:55 am
This GEMS session will be facilitated by Professor Teal Witter from Claremont McKenna College.
Title: Who Can Write Down the Bigger Number?
Abstract:
If you had fifteen seconds to write the largest distinct whole number possible on an index card, what would you write? While most would look to the physical world for inspiration—counting the grains of sand in the Sahara or the atoms in the observable universe—we will explore much larger numbers. Our journey will take us beyond the limits of scientific notation, moving from “power towers” and the mind-bending Ackermann function to the very edge of computer science. Ultimately, we will arrive at the “Busy Beaver” sequence: numbers so unfathomably vast that they are theoretically uncomputable. Join us to explore the boundaries of language, logic, and the truly gargantuan.