Four fours

Four fours is a mathematical puzzle, the goal of which is to find the simplest mathematical expression for every whole number from 0 to some maximum, using only common mathematical symbols and the digit four. No other digit is allowed. Most versions of the puzzle require that each expression have exactly four fours, but some variations require that each expression have some minimum number of fours. The puzzle requires skill and mathematical reasoning. The first printed occurrence of the specific problem of four fours is in Knowledge: An Illustrated Magazine of Science in 1881. A similar problem involving arranging four identical digits to equal a certain amount was given in Thomas Dilworth's popular 1734 textbook The Schoolmaster's Assistant, Being a Compendium of Arithmetic Both Practical and Theoretical. W. W. Rouse Ball described it in the 6th edition (1914) of his Mathematical Recreations and Essays. In this book it is described as a "traditional recreation".