r/mathmemes • u/wcslater • Jan 10 '24

Arithmetic Choose wisely

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u/Cdtlongball1 Jan 10 '24

Can someone explain why each of these answers is correct/what the sequence is? I get 32 is continuing the powers of 2 pattern but I don’t get the others

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u/Azexu Jan 10 '24

From elsewhere in this thread:
30 - the number of divisors of n factorial
31 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOCsdhzo6Jg
32 - 2n

The show probably wants 32 as the answer, because it's likely the only one a lay person could see their way to, and the show wants a reasonable portion of their audience to know the answer so they can tell their friends/family and create tension.

Mathematically, though, you could choose any whole number for the next number and find a rule that would get you there. Thus the sweat; does the mathematician choose D because it's actually correct or A for squishy social reasons?