The Beauty of Narcissistic Numbers

If you are a reader of Greek mythology, then you are probably familiar with Narcissus.  He was  a hunter of exceptional beauty that he died because he was unable to leave a pool after falling in love with his own reflection. That’s why I keep myself away from pools these days (kidding).

narcissus

Narcissus gazing at his own reflection (via Wikipedia)

In mathematics, he has kins by the name of narcissistic numbers — numbers that can’t get enough of themselves.  In particular, they are numbers that are the sum of their digits when raised to the power of the number of digits. » Read more