2048 And Math Love

2 + 2 = 4

4 + 4 = 8

8 + 8 = 16

16 + 16 = 32

32 + 32 = 64

64 + 64 = 128

128 + 128 = 256

256 + 256 = 512

512 + 512 = 1024

1024 + 1024 = 2048

Math, or maths as everyone in Singapore calls the subject, has always been intriguing to me. I loved A-Maths in secondary school with all the calculus, trigonometry and coordinate geometry. Things got hairy with vectors and group theory. Then stats came along and made things interesting. That x^2 could equal -1 was mind-blowing. That one could prove that the hypothenuse is always longer than the sum of the lengths of other two sides of a right angled triangle. (Then I went to NS and became stupid. But that's another story.) 

It was perhaps the problem solving and mental twists that I enjoyed and still enjoy. Maybe how patterns evolve into something bigger or when puzzles reveal themselves. The thrill of revelation akin to striking lottery. Well maybe not. I remember a GP essay question "Mathematics is the perfect language. Discuss." that I didn't attempt. But the thought stuck with me all this while. Is it really? What else could 1 + 1 be but 2? Fact and truth couldn't be split from equations. No conjecture. The assumptions came in with applied maths in science but the basis is always pure. 

I bring this up because I recently started playing the 2048 game on my phone. Quite simply, it's a matter of sliding squares of 2 and 4 so that same numbers add up, eventually in the hopes of joining up a pair of 1024 squares to form the coveted 2048 piece. It's driving me nuts and it occupies my time in the daily commute to and from work. Addictive because it's not simple and requires some strategy after slip-sliding the squares about their 4x4 grid. A game of "if I move here now, will I be able to match up the bigger pairs later". 

Well I enjoy it. And you can too. And now you know how horribly nerdy I can be. 

I haven't gone beyond 512 yet. 

And I just found this - Science explains why you're addicted to 2048 http://www.salon.com/2014/04/04/science_explains_why_youre_addicted_to_2048_partner/