APPARENTLY, there are all sorts of uncanny coincidences in the way that DNA codes for the amino acids 鈥� the building blocks of proteins. That鈥檚 the conclusion of a paper by Tidjani N茅gadi of the physics department of Oran University, Algeria, entitled 鈥淭he genetic code multiplet structure, in one number鈥�.
If you enjoy the mathematics of symmetries, please visit and reassure Feedback鈥檚 relatively untutored and now-aching brain that this isn鈥檛 numerology.
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Oddly, N茅gadi鈥檚 discoveries revolve around the numbers 23 and 23! 鈥� the latter is the factorial 1 脳 2 脳 3 鈥� 22 脳 23, or 25,852,016,738,884,976,640,000 鈥� a number N茅gadi describes as 鈥渟tupendously interesting as it has 23 digits鈥�. It also contains every decimal digit at least once, and N茅gadi relates the number of times each occurs to the numbers of amino acids that are coded for by one, two or more different DNA units.
Why is that odd? Because nowhere in the paper is there any acknowledgement of the great goddess Eris, 鈥渨orshipped鈥� in the fictitious religion of , whose tenets are organised around the number 23. Can this be coincidence? Surely not.
鈥淲hen Robin Firbairns searched a famous web search engine for some software he had heard about, the FWSE came up with the unusual concept of 鈥淩esults 1-2 of about 1鈥斥��
Indeed, the late Robert Anton Wilson, co-author of the parodic Illuminatus! trilogy that is such an inspiration to Discordians, seems to have anticipated N茅gadi. For it is written in the Canadian magazine Common Ground in July 1999 that Wilson said: 鈥淚 suspect and almost believe that the Unknown and Inexplicable played a role in the design of the DNA molecule.鈥�
PEOPLE often say, 鈥淚 wish I had a time machine鈥� when they find out about an event they wanted to attend after it has happened. It seems Dave Cantor got fed up with hearing this 鈥� which may be why he responded as follows to another science fiction fan expressing the wish on a Boston, Massachusetts, mailing list: 鈥淛oe, honestly I don鈥檛 know why you don鈥檛 remember. You had a time machine. Several of them. Every damn time you got one, you went back and killed the UPS driver before he could deliver it to you.鈥�
Turn me over and over and over
A PARCEL arrived for Robert Ford from his IT supplier Equanet shaped like a shoebox. He hoped it contained the network router he had ordered, but he encountered an obstacle in finding out. On what seemed to be the top of the box, in large letters printed along the length, were the words: 鈥淚鈥檓 upside down. Please turn me over.鈥� Ford did as he was asked, only to find, on what had hitherto been the bottom of the box, the words: 鈥淚鈥檓 upside down. Please turn me over.鈥� So was he to continue complying with these requests ad infinitum, or ignore them and open the box?
IMAGINE the excitement mixed with perplexity on receiving an email headed 鈥淒iscount of 541 per cent on Chateau d鈥橸quem鈥�. When Jon Chard received this message from the Antique Wine Company, he just had to read on 鈥� only to find that the promise of a negatively priced bottle of fine wine was misleading. True, the magnum of Chateau d鈥橸quem in question had been sold for 拢29,750 by Zachys Wine Auctions, while the price offered by the Antique Wine Company was a snip at 拢4640 鈥� but Chard was still unable to afford a single bottle.
LOOKING through electronic goods on Sharper Image鈥檚 website, Jacqueline Teng came across this: 鈥� 鈥� Replace missing locater discs for your 鈥楴ow You Can Find It!鈥� Electronic Locater.鈥� Teng finds it ironic that the company is advertising spares to replace lost items for a 鈥渓ocater device鈥�. We do too. What鈥檚 more, we note that 鈥渢his product is not available at this time鈥�. Have they lost it?
WHEN Mark Jarvis wanted to test the theory that absolutely everything can be purchased from Amazon, he searched . Sure enough, he was told that among other offers he could buy 12 new Durex Performer condoms for 拢7.69 or 鈥�4 used and new for 拢2.95鈥�.
ANDY PRIOR hoped that the email he was printing would fit on one page, so as not to waste paper. When he collected it from the printer he was disappointed to see that a single line of text had forced a second page to be printed. The line read: 鈥淭hink before you print! Consider the environment before printing this email.鈥�
FINALLY, following its announcement concerning a 鈥渓ocalised event鈥� (Feedback, 5 January), Holborn underground station in London has moved on to events of the non-localised kind. A colleague on her way home from the New 杏吧原创 office last week was greeted with the announcement: 鈥淎s you enter the platform, please move left and right away from the entrances.鈥�