Riffs and Rotes • Happy New Year 2026
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2026/01/01/riffs-and-rotes-happy-new-year-2026/
There's a deep mathematical significance I see in the following structures, and I'm hoping one day to find a way to explain all the things I see there. Meanwhile, you may take them as an amusing diversion in recreational maths.
\( \text{Let} ~ p_n = \text{the} ~ n^\text{th} ~ \text{prime}. \)
\( \begin{array}{llcl}
\text{Then} & 2026 & = & 2 \cdot 1013
\\
&& = & p_1 p_{170}
\\
&& = & p_1 p_{2 \cdot 5 \cdot 17}
\\
&& = & p_1 p_{p_1 p_3 p_7}
\\
&& = & p_1 p_{p_1 p_{p_2} p_{p_4}}
\\
&& = & p_1 p_{p_1 p_{p_{p_1}} p_{p_{{p_1}^{p_1}}}}
\end{array} \)
No information is lost by dropping the terminal 1s. Thus we may write the following form.
\[ 2026 = p p_{p p_{p_p} p_{p_{p^p}}} \]
The article linked below tells how forms of that order correspond to a family of digraphs called “riffs” and a family of graphs called “rotes”.
The riff and rote for 2026 are shown in the next two Figures.
Riff 2026
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/riff-2026-card.png
Rote 2026
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/rote-2026-card.png
Reference —
Riffs and Rotes
• https://oeis.org/wiki/Riffs_and_Rotes
cc: https://www.academia.edu/community/VBA6Qz
cc: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Riffs_and_Rotes_Happy_New_Year_2026
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