Anyone have a copy of Sagan's Contact handy?

[clauclauclaudia]

I'd like a quote from the very end of the book, so those who wish no spoilage should not read behind the

So Ellie is searching for irregularities in the expansion of pi. When one is found, I recall something like "it showed up best in base 11, where it was written entirely in 1s and 0s". Can you quote me what exactly it says about base 11? Someone on a Babylon 5 newsgroup remembers it as meaning that base 11 is always written in 1s and 0s, whereas I remember it just as I paraphrased above.

You may call me a freak if I got it exactly right... that's one of my favorite moments in any book ever. Because I'm *that* kind of geek.

Comments

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I wish I could lay my hands on the book for you, but I can't. I know I have a copy somewhere, but I don't know where.

I do have a copy of the movie easily accessible...

[clauclauclaudia]

... which of course omits this lovely moment, and my other favorite moment from the book, the Foucault's Pendulum scene. *wistful sigh*

[annathepiper]

I've got the book at home, but I'd have to dig to find the quote. Do you remember whereabouts in the book it is? E.g., what chapter?

[firni.livejournal.com]

"The anomaly showed up most starkly in base 11 arithmetic, where it could be written out entirely as zeroes and ones."

a link

[totient]

here's some context for that quote.

[cheshyre]

Googling around on contact pi ellie "base 11" I found this and this, both of which transcribe the ending, including that portion. This isn't definitive, although the fact that both of them agree in wording lends some credence towards accuracy, unless one is copying the other.

I also found a math in fiction page, including these spoilers on the conclusion and their relation to current number theory.