I've noticed quite a few 'physics help!!' threads around, so I figured there may well be one or two people that would appreciate this fascinating little interestingoid..

You'll need a pen and paper, and it'll only take a minute, but I imagine the effect should last for some time longer.

Write down five random numbers. Any numbers, any at all. Just for an example, I'll pick..
23 - 15 - 4 - 8 - 16

Then, on the next line, under the first number, right down the number of 0s you've used. I've not used any. Next to it, write down the number of 1s you've used. I've used 2. Then number of 3s and 4s.

My piece of paper looks like:
23 - 15 - 4 - 8 - 16
0 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 1

Do the same for this line. Just think zeroes, ones, twos, threes, fours. Mine looks like:

23 - 15 - 4 - 8 - 16
0 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 1
1 - 1 - 3 - 0 - 0

And keep doing it until you get a line that repeats itself.
By the power of mathemagic, I can tell you (if you've done it right), that this line reads 2 - 1 - 2 - 0 - 0 . Amaze!

wow, I can finally complete my physics paper!

No force of nature and mankind can help with that.

99, 88, 22, 55, 66

0, 0, 2, 0, 0

4, 0, 1, 0, 0

3, 1, 0, 0, 1

2, 2, 0, 1, 0

2, 1, 2, 0, 0

2, 1, 2, 0, 0

2, 1, 2, 0, 0

2, 1, 2, 0, 0

etc.

w00t!

Hmm, this reminds me of the one where you pick a number, write it down in words (e.g. "seven thousand three hundred and eighteen") and then count the number of letters and then write that number in words, etc. You always end up with "four".

Or everyone's favourite, the "hailstone numbers" sequence:

tn = tn-1 / 2 | tn-1 = 2k
tn = tn-1*3+1 | tn-1 != 2k

which seems to always end in the sequence 4,2,1,4,2,1,etc. But it hasn't yet been proven why that happens (though it's been shown to hold true for the first 10 billion numbers or something)

I remember those old math tricks with those basic calculators. You would do something on it, turn it upside down and "read" the numbers. Now everyone has Ti-83, 85, etc.

Creepy.

Thus why 42 is the answer.

Hee, I'm unsurprised that you were the first to spot which numbers I had chosen.

Anyway, the overarching point of this was to demonstrate how order can come out of randomness just by the nature of mathematics, and how non-trivial that order can be. Perhaps I'm the only one that finds that interesting.

What is that picture of anyway?

is that from the cube?

What you're forgeting here is that the vecterized-polar alignment of the numbers completely contradicts the laws of thermodynamcs, which I have proven wrong by the way, in my laboritory.

This of course opens up limitless possibilities for perpetual motion machines, such as my quasi-quatum-reflection alternator.

Creepy.

It's from Lost.

Emon, that is hilarious.

Also, I can't believe I missed that the numbers were from "Lost". That show is mostly awesome. Although you never see the numbers out of order in the show.