21 Apr
2013
21 Apr
'13
9:15 a.m.
On 4/21/2013 9:50 AM, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
Allan Wechsler <acwacw@gmail.com> wrote:
Dan Asimov <dasimov@earthlink.net> wrote:
ELEVEN + TWO = TWELVE + ONE
Dan, this is just an anagram, right? Unless I'm missing something truly devilish, it's arithmetically impossible.
I've confirmed that there is no solution. Since there are only seven distinct letters, I also tried base 7. Then all bases through 40. Still no solution. (Larger bases are very slow to test.)
There is no solution in any base. The matching Es in the 1000s place are the trouble: The difference between ELE000 and TWE000 is a nonzero multiple of 10000, but it is also |VEN + TWO - LVE - ONE|, which is less than 2000. -- Fred W. Helenius fredh@ix.netcom.com