[seqfan] Re: A book about large numbers

[franktaw at netscape.net]

The problem of representing very large integers is fundamentally 
unsolvable.

Using an alphabet of n symbols, a representation of length m allows at 
most n^m distinct numbers to be represented. Using any reasonable 
values for n and m, only a small fraction of the numbers up to, say, 
10^10^10^10 will have a representation.

Franklin T. Adams-Watters

-----Original Message-----
From: Matevž Markovič <matevz.markovic.v at gmail.com>

Dear Mr. William,

I did not know that Archimedes was also thinking about such matters. 
Thank
you for sharing that with me. Who knows, perhaps the clue to a better
representation of very large integers lies in ancient books.