Solution #37: For Those Under 16

In is not a matter of magic but simply the characteristics of a number written in base 2. Any whole number less than 16 can be written as
x020 + x121 + x222 + x323
where each xn is either a 0 or a 1.

When xn = 1, the corresponding age is in the column headed 2n.

When xn = 0, the corresponding age is not in the column headed 2n.

Example: If you are 13 years old, your age will appear in the last three columns because

13 = 1.20 + 1.21 + 0.22 + 1.23 = 8 + 4 + 0 + 1
Source: Berrondom, Marie
Categories: Number sense, Magic, Bases, Modular arithmetic, Favorite
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