Volume 7, Issue 3

Editor’s Note

There are 120,320 television shows currently airing in the United States alone. Worldwide there are over 2,102,494. Out of those multimillion options, I’m sure that all of us have at least one series that is our own guilty pleasure. That one program that just never gets old and leaves you itching for the next episode. If the names Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Raji and Penny sound familiar to you, we just might have the same taste in TV.

There is just something about the perfect mixture of intellect and socially awkward humor in “The Big Bang Theory” that I can’t get enough of. More often than not, I find myself relating most to Penny, as I struggle to understand all of the geeky physicist terminology. But in an effort to summon my inner genius, I have a quick numbers lesson that might even make Sheldon Cooper proud!

In number theory, a perfect number is a positive integer that is equal to the sum of its proper positive divisors, that is, the sum of its positive divisors excluding the number itself. Equivalently, a perfect number is a number that is half the sum of all of its positive divisors. The first perfect number is 6, because 1, 2, and 3 are its proper positive divisors, and 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. Equivalently, the number 6 is equal to half the sum of all its positive divisors (1 + 2 + 3 + 6)/2 = 6.

After reading that, you might feel like I was speaking Greek. Actually it’s “geek” for why the number six is the first perfect number. And, the staff at Saline County Lifestyles couldn’t agree more. As we celebrate our six-year anniversary, things couldn’t be more perfect. Our community is continually growing and thriving in every way, making the last six years together a joy and an honor.

With the next perfect number being 28, followed by the perfect numbers 496 and 8,128, Saline County Lifestyles can’t wait to celebrate those anniversaries with you as well! As Sheldon would say, “Bazinga!” Your town. Your life. Your magazine.

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