Main content

Simon Singh's NumbersA Further Five NumbersEpisodes

Back up to: Simon Singh's Numbers

  1. 1729 - The first taxicab number

    1729 is the smallest number you can write as the sum of two cubes, in two different ways.

  2. G - The number that defines the universe

    Newton's equation of gravity includes a number G, indicating the strength of gravitation.

  3. Six degrees of separation

    Six is often treated as 2x3, but has many characteristics of its own.

  4. Two - At the double

    Doubling is a form of exponential growth, which appears in population growth and inflation

  5. One - The most popular number

    One is the most popular number, as it appears more often than any other number.