Interesting. So you are saying that the original pool of cicadas came at all frequencies - the surviving frequencies are those that don't have a matching predator? Although I Wiki-thought that "Most cicadas go through a life cycle that lasts from two to five years". So why the fuss about prime numbers? Is it the same as the "man in the moon" or "canals on mars" phenomenon?
There is one flaw with this logic and that is that the solution to the problem leads to a problem similar to the original problem.
The question to start with is that why does a certain species have a cycle of x years and the answer to that is that another species has a cycle of y years. Now please answer, why does a certain species have a cycle of y years?
Amazing article, Dilip (as always).
ReplyDeleteInteresting. So you are saying that the original pool of cicadas came at all frequencies - the surviving frequencies are those that don't have a matching predator? Although I Wiki-thought that "Most cicadas go through a life cycle that lasts from two to five years". So why the fuss about prime numbers? Is it the same as the "man in the moon" or "canals on mars" phenomenon?
ReplyDeleteThere is one flaw with this logic and that is that the solution to the problem leads to a problem similar to the original problem.
ReplyDeleteThe question to start with is that why does a certain species have a cycle of x years and the answer to that is that another species has a cycle of y years. Now please answer, why does a certain species have a cycle of y years?