29 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
29 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
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# Introduction
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One evening, you stumbled upon an old notebook filled with cryptic scribbles, as though someone had been obsessively chasing an idea.
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On one page, a single question stood out: **Can every number find its way to 1?**
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It was tied to something called the **Collatz Conjecture**, a puzzle that has baffled thinkers for decades.
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The rules were deceptively simple.
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Pick any positive integer.
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- If it's even, divide it by 2.
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- If it's odd, multiply it by 3 and add 1.
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Then, repeat these steps with the result, continuing indefinitely.
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Curious, you picked number 12 to test and began the journey:
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12 ➜ 6 ➜ 3 ➜ 10 ➜ 5 ➜ 16 ➜ 8 ➜ 4 ➜ 2 ➜ 1
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Counting from the second number (6), it took 9 steps to reach 1, and each time the rules repeated, the number kept changing.
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At first, the sequence seemed unpredictable — jumping up, down, and all over.
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Yet, the conjecture claims that no matter the starting number, we'll always end at 1.
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It was fascinating, but also puzzling.
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Why does this always seem to work?
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Could there be a number where the process breaks down, looping forever or escaping into infinity?
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The notebook suggested solving this could reveal something profound — and with it, fame, [fortune][collatz-prize], and a place in history awaits whoever could unlock its secrets.
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[collatz-prize]: https://mathprize.net/posts/collatz-conjecture/
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