Les nombres zigzags | Tangente
♦♦♦ Les nombres zigzags

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Many arithmetic problems can be solved using standard methods, whether elementary or advanced. But some puzzles call for a basic concept—divisibility—and a little ingenuity.

Nowhere are congruences more vivid, striking or spectacular than in self-working magic tricks. Though "swept under the rug," they are there, guaranteeing the performer success. The audience can only marvel at the effect... and suspect that the magic of numbers is at work.

Telling almost at a glance whether one integer is divisible by another can sometimes be quite a challenge. Yet there are perfectly reliable ways to do so, even with fairly large numbers!

Prime numbers form the backbone of arithmetic. Although their distribution remains a subject of cutting-edge research, being able to decide mentally whether a number is prime is an excellent mental exercise—both enjoyable and creative.