The strange properties of the infinite power tower

Abstract

In this article we investigate some "unexpected" properties of the "Infinite Power Tower". \[y = f(x) = {x^{{x^{{x^{{x^ {\mathinner{\mkern2mu\raise1pt\hbox{.}\mkern2mu \raise4pt\hbox{.}\mkern2mu\raise7pt\hbox{.}\mkern1mu}} }}}}}}}\] The material collected here is also intended as a potential guide for teachers of high-school/undergraduate students interested in planning an activity of investigative mathematics in the classroom, where the knowledge is gained through the active, creative and cooperative use of diversified mathematical tools (and some ingenuity). The activity should possibly be carried on with a laboratorial style, with no preclusions on the paths chosen and undertaken by the students and with little or no information imparted from the teacher's desk. The teacher should then act just as a guide and a facilitator. The mathematical requisites to follow this path are: functions, properties of exponentials and logarithms, sequences, limits and derivatives. The topics presented should then be accessible to undergraduate or "advanced high school" students.