Even Perfect Numbers: (Update)2
Stanley J. Bezuszka, Margaret J. Kenney · Mathematics Teacher Learning and Teaching PK-12 · 1997
Perfect Numbers may appear perfectly useless; however, they do have redeeming features. Specifically, the pursuit of perfect numbers leads us to examine the history of mathematics very closely to locate information about the progression of mathematicians who have discovered and worked with them. Students assigned to produce a report on perfect numbers and their properties will uncover some fascinating episodes. Further, perfect numbers are part of the frontier of the technological age. They are woven into the mystique of the supercomputer. Anyone with an interest in computing can try to determine how the computer helps in the search for perfect numbers and what algorithms are used for this purpose.