On page 2 of The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 1, Fascicle 1, Knuth (2005) writes, "The same number may also be obtained in a simpler way by taking Roman Numerals."
This is part of Knuth's humorous explanation of the identifying number of the MMIX Computer. The number 2009 is the average of the identifying numbers of 14 other computers. He goes on to say that we can also obtain 2009 by "taking Roman Numerals." How?
I have tried taking the Roman Numerals from the names of the 14 other computers. The sum exceeds 2009 and is far less than 28,126, so neither the sum nor the average work. Knuth could just mean to take the Roman Numerals of MMIX, and if that's it, then fine. Is there something else though? I would love to know.
P.S.
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References
Knuth, D. E. (2005). The art of computer programming: Volume 1, fascicle 1 : MMIX, a RISC computer for the new millennium. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Addison-Wesley.