Many mathematical functions can be defined recursively:
Many problems can be solved recursively, eg games of all types from simple ones like the Towers of Hanoi problem to complex ones like chess. In games, the recursive solutions are particularly convenient because, having solved the problem by a series of recursive calls, you want to find out how you got to the solution. By keeping track of the move chosen at any point, the program call stack does this housekeeping for you! This is explained in more detail later.
