2**2**2**2**2 wrong? Bug?

[Gabriel Genellina]

En Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:30:34 -0300, Ben Finney  
<bignose+hates-spam at benfinney.id.au> escribió:

> "Gabriel Genellina" <gagsl-py2 at yahoo.com.ar> writes:
>
>> "Which is the largest number that can be written with only 3
>> digits?"  Some people stop at 999, others try 99**9 and 9**99, and
>> the winner is 9**9**9
>
> Since exponentiation is (I think?) the highest-order function we
> understand for writing *only* digits on the page, then yes, your
> answer is right, if no other mathematical notation is allowed.
>
> Since others seem to be reading "only 3 digits" as "3 digits plus
> other well-defined mathematical notation", here's the best answer
> given those criteria:
>
>     <URL:http://www.scottaaronson.com/writings/bignumbers.html>

Thanks, very interesting article! I like the idea of Busy Beaver numbers:  
so simple to express, rather comprehensible, but enormously big...

-- 
Gabriel Genellina