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1Is this an anagram? – ABcDexter Nov 26 '18 at 12:21
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It certainly looks like it might be, though in that case the combination of additive notation (+) and multiplicative notation (exponents) makes me twitch. – Gareth McCaughan Nov 26 '18 at 12:57
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6@Chowzen Would you like to comment on the fact that $a$ and $b$ have no exponents while e.g. $c$ has an explicit exponent 1? (I appreciate that the answer may be that you would not like to comment.) – Gareth McCaughan Nov 26 '18 at 12:57
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2@GarethMcCaughan It should become evident when the significance of the exponents is determined. Maybe I should add the [tag:enigmatic] tag to this, huh? – Chowzen Nov 26 '18 at 13:25
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1Is the capital "S" in Solve (in the title) significant to finding the answer? – SolveLikeBeaker Nov 26 '18 at 18:43
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@CodeLikeBeaker I highly doubt that.... – user46002 Nov 26 '18 at 18:47
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@CodeLikeBeaker No, the puzzle is contained entirely in the equation. – Chowzen Nov 26 '18 at 20:01
1 Answers
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The powers in the equation are the number of the moons (natural satellites) of the planets in the Solar System
Mercury = 0
Venus = 0
Earth = 1
Mars = 2
Following are the 'giants' which explains the bigger font:
Jupiter = 67
Saturn = 62
Uranus = 27
Neptune = 14
And the dwarf planets:
Pluto = 5
Eris = 1
Haumea = 2
Orcus = 1
Quaoar = 1
X = Solar System (or maybe the Sun)
rhsquared
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@deep-thought I was just thinking the same thing -- not to mention rot13(Znxrznxr) – Admiral Jota Nov 28 '18 at 15:12
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@AdmiralJota Well, I've probably used the same planet list as Chowzen. I still can't get over the fact that what I learned in school is no longer true. – rhsquared Nov 28 '18 at 15:14
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3I knew that these numbers would cause unrest. :) Depending on the source, the number of
variables(andexponents) can differ quite a bit. – Chowzen Nov 28 '18 at 15:23