# What comes next? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 9, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584 "2011-12-09T03:13:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1

**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/1 "2011-12-09T03:13:51Z")

6 16 1116 3116 ? ---

**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/2 "2011-12-09T18:42:04Z")

132116 ---

**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/3 "2011-12-10T05:01:16Z")

1113122116 ---

**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/4 "2011-12-10T10:10:48Z")

311311222116 ---

**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/5 "2011-12-10T10:21:47Z")

13211321322116 ---

**Author:** ![Lubricious\_Integument](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/6 "2011-12-10T23:44:06Z")

> [@Mewl\_Dear](#): > > 6 > 16 > 1116 > 3116 > ? The next term is pretty clearly 7. ---

**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/7 "2011-12-11T03:56:27Z")

> [@Lubricious\_Integument](#): > > The next term is pretty clearly 7. :dubious: How? ---

**Author:** ![Lubricious\_Integument](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/8 "2011-12-11T05:41:26Z")

> [@indian](#): > > :dubious: How? Just start plugging natural numbers into the expression (-5819n^4 + 57430n^3 - 186025n^2 + 243590n - 109032)/24. You get 6, 16, 1116, 3116, 7, -20039, etc. Pretty obvious, really. ---

**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/9 "2011-12-11T15:58:09Z")

Hoopy Frood is correct. ---

**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/10 "2011-12-11T20:21:12Z")

> [@K364](#): > > Hoopy Frood is correct. So are the people who came after me, since they continued the sequence. And **Lubricious Integument** is right as well. (Thank you google calculator.) ---

**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/11 "2011-12-11T20:29:39Z")

Yes, everyone’s correct but I think **Lubricious Integument** wins the thread. ---

**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/12 "2011-12-12T18:58:16Z")

> [@Ximenean](#): > > Yes, everyone’s correct but I think **Lubricious Integument** wins the thread. I just want to know how long that took him (her?) and what method he used to figure that out. Because I can’t see anyone bothering to figure that out by hand. ---

**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/13 "2011-12-12T19:39:21Z")

> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > 132116 Yup 132116. ---

**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/14 "2011-12-12T19:42:25Z")

How about… What’s the next line: 1 1 7 1 7 6 1 7 6 3 5 1 7 6 3 5 9 1 7 6 3 5 9 1 7 6 3 0 5 9 1 7 6 3 2 0 5 4 9 1 7 6 3 2 0 ---

**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/15 "2011-12-12T23:09:12Z")

> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > I just want to know how long that took him (her?) and what method he used to figure that out. Because I can’t see anyone bothering to figure that out by hand. I don’t know the technique, but I’m guessing it was slightly tongue-in-cheek, making the point that these types of numerical sequence puzzles inherently have many solutions. An infinite number of solutions, I imagine. ---

**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/16 "2011-12-13T07:31:37Z")

You can always learn something here in dope!🆒 ---

**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-comes-next/605584/17 "2011-12-13T08:35:35Z")

> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > I just want to know how long that took him (her?) and what method he used to figure that out. Because I can’t see anyone bothering to figure that out by hand. > **[Lagrange Interpolating Polynomial -- from Wolfram MathWorld](https://mathworld.wolfram.com/LagrangeInterpolatingPolynomial.html)** > > The Lagrange interpolating polynomial is the polynomial P(x) of degree \<=(n-1) that passes through the n points (x\_1,y\_1=f(x\_1)), (x\_2,y\_2=f(x\_2)), ..., (x\_n,y\_n=f(x\_n)), and is given by P(x)=sum\_(j=1)^nP\_j(x), (1) where ... I used to give problems on this to my beginning algebra class… didn’t go well.