Software testing FAQ - No. 5

Is the number of testers in the UK a perfect number?

Another question from Oliver Letwin.

What is it with you and numbers Oliver? You may think this is an odd question but you'd be wrong. Nobody has ever found an odd perfect number. As all software testers know, a perfect number is one that is equal to the sum of its divisors. 6 is the first perfect number. Its divisors are 1,2 and 3 and 1+2+3 is 6. Perfect? Well Pythagoras thought so. There are loads of them but nobody has found one that is an odd number.

In theory there is no reason why there isn't an odd perfect number so if you have a few spare moments and are good at adding and dividing you might want to see if you can find one. This will make you famous. To be exact you will be more famous than the bloke who solved Fermat's last theorem (Andrew Wiles) but not quiet as famous as Bernard Yoeuns (who pretended to be Stan Ogden in a documentary series about life in England).

Anyway back to the question - the answer is no.




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