Abstract
It is no wonder we often think of numbers as abstract, solitary tools used only for counting, computing and measuring. However, behind this appearance, there are some special numbers that share a deep, reciprocal connection with each other: the so-called amicable numbers. These numbers appear in pairs, and like good friends, each is the sum of the other's proper divisors. Behind this definition, we discover possibly one of the oldest stories in arithmetic, one that has fascinated many scholars for millennia.
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