@article{1204, abstract = {In science, as in life, "surprises" can be adequately appreciated only in the presence of a null model, what we expect a priori. In physics, theories sometimes express the values of dimensionless physical constants as combinations of mathematical constants like π or e. The inverse problem also arises, whereby the measured value of a physical constant admits a "surprisingly" simple approximation in terms of well-known mathematical constants. Can we estimate the probability for this to be a mere coincidence, rather than an inkling of some theory? We answer the question in the most naive form.}, author = {Amir, Ariel and Lemeshko, Mikhail and Tokieda, Tadashi}, journal = {American Mathematical Monthly}, number = {6}, pages = {609 -- 612}, publisher = {Mathematical Association of America}, title = {{Surprises in numerical expressions of physical constants}}, doi = {10.4169/amer.math.monthly.123.6.609}, volume = {123}, year = {2016}, }