Imaginary number thread?

Will there be cake?

DAMN! Another perfect reason for an office party down the drain

Science and Math rock!

sweet!

I actually still have a slide rule. It returns answers in black and white.

r00t!

March 14th is Pi day.

i sleep through my hs math class everyday.
lgf is my refuge.
now spoiled by math.

Intelligent Design Math tells me X = God.

re: #11 Sharmuta

actually x=christ.
xmas=christmas. you see?

It's funny today is Square Root Day- 3/3/9

re: #9 Mich-again

March 14th is Pi day.

My favorite day, and Grey Matters' blogiversary!

Well you know that's their interpretation of it /

re: #7 CynicalConservative

I actually still have a slide rule. It returns answers in black and white.

Me too. And mine was made in Japan out of some kind of fragrant wood - when I take it out of its case the smell reminds me of trigonometry.

Go math! Phi-nally, a pi we can all divide and share!

Is today an imaginary day? Please, please tell me it is.

re: #13 Sharmuta

It's funny today is Square Root Day- 3/3/9

It doesn't happen again until 4/4/16!

We should bake a pie in honor of square root day. Of course it couldn't be the traditional round one because pie are square, as everyone knows.

re: #13 Sharmuta

It's funny today is Square Root Day- 3/3/9

Wow, how did we let 2/2/04 go by without a big party!

I would be about as excited with Square Root Day as I would be with Root Canal Day.

re: #20 MJBrutus

You mean you didn't have one?

So, Democrats have realized that their efforts to try and give DC residents a full say in the House of Reps was unconstitutional and have therefore pulled the clearly unconstitutional legislation. They were concerned that some Democrats might oppose the measure.

Yeah... Democrats in action...

re: #21 Wishing

I would be about as excited with Square Root Day as I would be with Root Canal Day.

That little lizard in your avatar is precious.

re: #20 MJBrutus

Wow, how did we let 2/2/04 go by without a big party!

I didn't. I got completely pi-eyed.

re: #24 bellamags

That little lizard in your avatar is precious.

Thak you, thank you! I found it on a Zoo-born type site! I just love the eyes!

re: #2 ArmyWife

Will there be cake?

Of course! (wheels in the chocolate cake)

Somewhere in the attic is my slide rule. So much more satisfying to use than an electronic calculator where one can't see the insides.

Let's just divide everything by zero.

re: #28 Naso Tang

Somewhere in the attic is my slide rule. So much more satisfying to use than an electronic calculator where one can't see the insides.

Could you explain please?

re: #29 So?

Let's just divide everything by zero.

"Zero" is dividing up what's ours as we speak.

Let's all take a ride on the complex plane!

re: #29 So?

Let's just divide everything by zero.

I thought the zero was already dividing everything?

The square root of -1 = good imaginary number.

My personal favorite is x/0.

Spend Square Root Day learning how to do cube roots, fifth roots and square roots in your head!
;)

anybody have an abacus?

Electro-kitten

#29 beat me to it! Ya gotta be fast here...

Be there (infinity) or be square.

re: #34 mikalm

My personal favorite is x/0.

That's the size of the economy when 0 is done with it.

re: #36 bellamags

anybody have an abacus?

Was that on a bootleg album of theirs?

re: #14 gmsc

My favorite day, and Grey Matters' blogiversary!

Wow all these special days/sites, square root, pi, grey matters - I'm waiting for one that I can really contribute to: grey roots.

re: #20 MJBrutus

Wow, how did we let 2/2/04 go by without a big party!

What were you doing on 1/1/01? Next, comparable, one on 1/1/3001.

re: #27 KitchenQueen

Of course! (wheels in the chocolate cake)

I upding anyone who says "cake"..yummm

Math is just a social construct.

re: #41 Bloodnok

Was that on a bootleg album of theirs?

? (i guess i'm having brain troubles right now)

A dozen, a gross, and a score
Plus three times the square root of four
Divided by seven
Plus five times eleven
Is nine squared and not a bit more

re: #23 lawhawk

Wonderful. Someone pulled out a copy of their Pocket Constitution and read the thing? Good thing they are in charge.

Sorry OT so soon but found this on a commentary to a Jim Cramer Article on CNBC and couldn't stop laughing. Obama is an acronym.

OneBigAzzMistakeAmerica

re: #46 bellamags

? (i guess i'm having brain troubles right now)

I think he meant cussing on an Abba album? That's all I can come up with ...

re: #40 CynicalConservative

That's the size of the economy when 0 is done with it.

0 + economy = Dow/2

re: #45 Occasional Reader

Math is just a social construct.

Then why are the people who are reeeally, really good at so antisocial?

///sorry math fiends!

Wish Obama knew a little math. Wish we could empower him with math.

Basically.

re: #47 Thanos

A dozen, a gross, and a score
Plus three times the square root of four
Divided by seven
Plus five times eleven
Is nine squared and not a bit more

Cheat!

What's that equation that has never been proved?
I think it's...

x 2 + y 2 = z 2

(sorry don't know how to do uppercase numbers)

re: #46 bellamags

? (i guess i'm having brain troubles right now)

It's not you, it's me (whenever Buzzsawmonkey tells you "It's a reaction" when he writes puns, believe him). Abba cuss (groan!).

The Dem's Stimulus Plan:

First we bail out Hamas, then we bail out FATA

re: #47 Thanos

A dozen, a gross, and a score
Plus three times the square root of four
Divided by seven
Plus five times eleven
Is nine squared and not a bit more

Personally, I like the one about the guy from Nantucket better...

You see, this is what makes the English system of units so elegant.

Consider the number of inches in a yard. That is the product of the square of the first three prime numbers 1^2*2^2*3^2
the number of inches in a foot is even more elegant it is the first prime raised to the third prime times the second prime raised to the second prime times the third prime raised to the first prime 1^3*2^2*3^1
the number of furlongs in a mile is also special it is the second prime raised to the third prime.
of course the whole system is replete with powers of 2, 16 oz =2^4, 1 qt = 2^5, 1 gal = 2^7 no wonder babbage created the computer, the damn french were still screwing around with their stupid decimal system.

For 2 points, what programming language had the Sterling as a native datatype? (In old pence of course, silly)

re: #43 Naso Tang

What were you doing on 1/1/01? Next, comparable, one on 1/1/3001.

New Years celebration of course ;P

re: #55 Naso Tang

Cheat!

Yeah, I cribbed it from Wikipedia

re: #22 ArmyWife

You mean you didn't have one?

Nah, I'm an innumerate product of government schools :-(

Well - gotta go guys, I'm late for my community organizing job at ACORN.

//heheh nooot nite nite

re: #56 So?

Pythagorean Theorem?!?

re: #64 monkeytime

Well - gotta go guys, I'm late for my community organizing job at ACORN.

//heheh nooot nite nite

Enjoy your stimulus!

re: #56 So?

What's that equation that has never been proved?
I think it's...

x 2 + y 2 = z 2

(sorry don't know how to do uppercase numbers)

x² + y² = z²

use < sup > 2 < / sup > without the spaces

re: #60 Shr_Nfr

You see, this is what makes the English system of units so elegant.

Consider the number of inches in a yard. That is the product of the square of the first three prime numbers 1^2*2^2*3^2
the number of inches in a foot is even more elegant it is the first prime raised to the third prime times the second prime raised to the second prime times the third prime raised to the first prime 1^3*2^2*3^1
the number of furlongs in a mile is also special it is the second prime raised to the third prime.
of course the whole system is replete with powers of 2, 16 oz =2^4, 1 qt = 2^5, 1 gal = 2^7 no wonder babbage created the computer, the damn french were still screwing around with their stupid decimal system.

For 2 points, what programming language had the Sterling as a native datatype? (In old pence of course, silly)

oh man - you beat me to it!

///heehhe ok - nite nite

I do know 2x6= a twelve pack...what more is there to it?...what a waste of time

re: #44 monkeytime

I upding anyone who says "cake"..yummm

I'm waiting for pi day - blueberry is my fave.

re: #65 Basho

Pythagorean Theorem?!?

NO. It was a simple formula, but nobody has ever been able to prove it. One mathematician spent his entire life working on it. He sort of proved it in theory.

re: #44 monkeytime

(cuts monkeytime a big corner piece with pink flowers)

Anybody itchin' to get a hat tip on zomblog? If so:

I'm looking for a juicy, definitive link/website which shows that The Islamic Society of North America (ICNA) is anti-gay or is against homosexualoty in its belief system.

Since they're connected to The Muslim Brotherhood, and since they are pretty much Islamic fundamentalists, it goes without syaing that they are anti-gay. But all I've been able to dig up in my (admittedly brief) searches are sort of second-tier connections -- anti-gay Imams who are associated with ICNA, etc.

This should be a fairly easy search, so: the first link or two or three posted here that satisfies the conditions (i.e. linking ICNA to an anti-homosexual belief system) gets a hat tip!

re: #45 Occasional Reader

I found that rather funny, who done downed dinged you?
No sense of humor eh?
so I updinged you.

What You Know About Math?

I like the idea of this quirky sort of mathematical holiday.

I mean for goodness' sake. After the recent onslaught of chaos and brokenness and war and newfound poverty, I like a thing like this.

OOPPS. Correction:

Islamic CIRCLE of North America -- ICNA.

Not the Islamic SOCIETY of North America.

Sorrry.

use < sup > 2 < / sup > without the spaces

X< sup > 2 = test

re: #25 Bloodnok

Yah I noticed, you had big circles under them the next day.

re: #71 So?

What you wrote was the Pythagorean Theorem...

X²

re: #78 So?

use < sup > 2 < / sup > without the spaces

X< sup > 2 = test

FAIL , I use a Mac.

re: #75 wee fury

What You Know About Math?

Apparently more than they do about grammar.
//

re: #45 Occasional Reader

Math is just a social construct.

Actually, new studies are showing that mathematical concepts are innate.

re: #78 So?

use < sup > 2 < / sup > without the spaces

X< sup > 2 = test

Gotta remove All spaces...

re: #73 zombie

Anybody itchin' to get a hat tip on zomblog? If so:

I'm looking for a juicy, definitive link/website which shows that The Islamic Society of North America (ICNA) is anti-gay or is against homosexualoty in its belief system.

Since they're connected to The Muslim Brotherhood, and since they are pretty much Islamic fundamentalists, it goes without syaing that they are anti-gay. But all I've been able to dig up in my (admittedly brief) searches are sort of second-tier connections -- anti-gay Imams who are associated with ICNA, etc.

This should be a fairly easy search, so: the first link or two or three posted here that satisfies the conditions (i.e. linking ICNA to an anti-homosexual belief system) gets a hat tip!

[Link: www.google.com...]

re: #80 Basho

What you wrote was the Pythagorean Theorem...

Well, I guess I don't remember the actual equation. It was very similar. Maybe the number were cubed.

x3 + y3 = z3

re: #79 Shr_Nfr

Yah I noticed, you had big circles under them the next day.

I made it to work in time for the circumference call, although I had the sphere of G-d in me.

re: #78 So?

Use the preview button...

re: #85 CynicalConservative

Gotta remove All spaces...

X< sup >2=test

re: #84 gmsc

Actually, new studies are showing that mathematical concepts are innate.

I'm wandering far, far -- astronomically far -- from my own field here, but aren't mathematics based on unchanging logic?

You've got one apple. You add another apple. Now you've got two.

And so forth?

A² + B² = C²

re: #90 So?

X< sup >2=test

x² = test

You don't bake a cake for Square Root Day, you make a Pi!

re: #86 Harry Tuttle

[Link: www.google.com...]

I guess maybe that doesn't qualify. :-(

Basically.

Pink light on the snow, fading fast, look now, Towercam.

(If you want to see it).

BBL

Actually- I thought about the 3/3/9 thing earlier today, but I didn't know I'd actually get to post that and it'd be on topic. Cool!

re: #90 So?

X< sup >2=test

X^2=test

^{why the word test also appear as an exponential?}

LOL Math

re: #92 Sharmuta

A² + B² = C²

is that the hypotenuse of a triangle?

3 squared is not 2009. Nor is (3+2)^2, (3*3)^2, or 33^2. If you have to truncate the date, or preform other manipulation, in order to make it somehow seem "special", then what is the bloody point?

Bloodnok=awesome

Prove.

re: #87 So?

Fermat's Last Theorem:
[Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

re: #88 Bloodnok

So long as you were not square with them, its ok. Being square doesn't work.

re: #101 Kailen

No cake for you.

re: #101 Kailen

3 squared is not 2009. Nor is (3+2)^2, (3*3)^2, or 33^2. If you have to truncate the date, or preform other manipulation, in order to make it somehow seem "special", then what is the bloody point?

Dude's basically got a point.

Last upside down year was 1961.

Won't be another till 6009.

re: #98 So?

X^2=test

why the word test also appear as an exponential?

The close tag is in the wrong place. the < / sup > needs to be right after the word(s) you want superscripted. Study the quoted text that Charles gives you. (Unless you're just messing with me).

It used to be so easy to write exponentials on a Mac, what happened?

Q: What do you get if you divide the cirucmference of a jack-o-lantern by its diameter?
A: Pumpkin Pi!

re: #102 Bloodnok

Bloodnok=awesome

Prove.

albu=rube

proven

re: #107 Ojoe

I better stow away some botox in anticipation of that party!

TM

Just fiddlin

re: #77 zombie

You see this site? [Link: gaymuslims.wordpress.com...]

re: #94 Madman2

You don't bake a cake for Square Root Day, you make a Pi!

(thumbs through recipes) Pumpkin, apple, or peach?

My New York Cheesecake is better, though. Does that count as pi?

±
×
÷
∧
∨
∠
∪
∩
∅
∃
ƒ
∀
≤
≥
≠
≈
∞
∫

re: #107 Ojoe

Last upside down year was 1961.

Won't be another till 6009.

I'll book the Olive Garden. You print the invitations.

re: #117 zombie

No, no. You've got it all backside-around.

A math student is pestered by a classmate who wants to copy his homework assignment. The student hesitates, not only because he thinks it's wrong, but also because he doesn't want to be sanctioned for aiding and abetting.
His classmate calms him down: "Nobody will be able to trace my homework to you: I'll be changing the names of all the constants and variables: a to b, x to y, and so on."
Not quite convinced, but eager to be left alone, the student hands his completed assignment to the classmate for copying.
After the deadline, the student asks: "Did you really change the names of all the variables?"
"Sure!" the classmate replies. "When you called a function f, I called it g; when you called a variable x, I renamed it to y; and when you were writing about the log of x+1, I called it the timber of x+1..."

re: #107 Ojoe

Last upside down year was 1961.

Won't be another till 6009.

Isn't that the year that O'Bambi's deficit will finally be paid off?

Square = Cube
I would like cake.

re: #86 Harry Tuttle

[Link: www.google.com...]

No results

The square root of Obama= error

re: #56 So?

What's that equation that has never been proved?
I think it's...

x 2 + y 2 = z 2

(sorry don't know how to do uppercase numbers)

1) Numbers aren't "uppercase" and "lowercase". If you're trying to do something like x², you're talking about superscript. If you're trying to do something like H₂O, you're talking about subscript.

2) To do these, you use the sup and sub tags.

3) x² + y² = z² is the Pythagorean Theorem, and has been proven time and time again.

I guess what you're trying to think of is Fermat's Last Theorem: xⁿ + yⁿ = zⁿ is unsolvable if n is any whole number greater than 2.

re: #117 zombie

±
×
÷
∧
∨
∠
∪
∩
∅
∃
ƒ
∀
≤
≥
≠
≈
∞
∫

and the square root ∆˚ = ?

re: #114 lawhawk

You see this site? [Link: gaymuslims.wordpress.com...]

Yes, I've got them. It's "honeytrap" site set up by fundamentalists Muslims to "bring gays back to Allah." There's a lot of argument about it on gay Muslim forums. Anyway, I got it already.

re: #122 wee fury

Square = Cube
I would like cake.

This made me laugh, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. I have no idea what it means, and it's a complete non sequitur. But that's what makes it funny.

Is it still hip to be square?

#101, the month and day are multiplied to get the last two digits of the year. Some other square root days in our century were/are 1 January 2001, 2 February 2004, 3 March 2009, and the next will be 4 April 2016. Get it?

Well, it didn't take long to go from Kerry visiting Syria to having Jeff Feltman from the State Department and Dan Shapiro from the White House visit Damascus to discuss bilateral issues.

Obama is running so hard and fast to push relations with regimes that have no interest in helping the US and giving up the farm in return that it makes the head spin.

re: #94 Madman2

You don't bake a cake for Square Root Day, you make a Pi!

No, Pi are round, cornbread are square.

Pop Quiz

You have a bucket with 5 pounds of rocks and you have another bucket with 2 pounds of rocks.

How many buckets do you have?

The square root of 3 is the year Geo. Washington was born. 1732 or 1.732. Old trick a lot people learned. Of course you would have to remember Washington's birth year.

re: #101 Kailen

wow...bummer...party canceled...

re: #84 gmsc

Actually, new studies are showing that mathematical concepts are innate.

And so is the inability to perceive sarcasm, apparently.

re: #73 zombie

Check Daniel Pipes' site.

re: #122 wee fury

Square = Cube
I would like cake.

It looks like cake > pi tonight.

(passes wee fury a slice)

59009

What? Damn, that always got a laugh in Junior High when I turned the calculator upside down.

re: #133 Syrah

Pop Quiz

You have a bucket with 5 pounds of rocks and you have another bucket with 2 pounds of rocks.

How many buckets do you have?

You must share your buckets, you have too many.

/Obama

re: #73 zombie

Statement by the Islamic Society of North America:

Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has written:

"Homosexuality is a moral disorder. It is a moral disease, a sin and corruption... No person is born homosexual, just like no one is born a thief, a liar or murderer. People acquire these evil habits due to a lack of proper guidance and education."

"There are many reasons why it is forbidden in Islam. Homosexuality is dangerous for the health of the individuals and for the society. It is a main cause of one of the most harmful and fatal diseases. It is disgraceful for both men and women. It degrades a person. Islam teaches that men should be men and women should be women. Homosexuality deprives a man of his manhood and a woman of her womanhood. It is the most un-natural way of life. Homosexuality leads to the destruction of family life."

This statement has since disappeared from the ISNA web site.

Confirmed here: Islam and Homosexuality

I am having math class flashbacks!

(which is why I preferred Art History or Literature)

re: #123 zombie

No results

I know I was being cute. Aren't I cute? (don't answer that.)

Actually there are results if you spell it right:

[Link: www.google.com...]

But I am too tired out here on the right coast to dig into them.

nite-all.

Basically.

re: #125 gmsc

1) Numbers aren't "uppercase" and "lowercase". If you're trying to do something like x², you're talking about superscript. If you're trying to do something like H₂O, you're talking about subscript.

2) To do these, you use the sup and sub tags.

3) x² + y² = z² is the Pythagorean Theorem, and has been proven time and time again.

I guess what you're trying to think of is Fermat's Last Theorem: xⁿ + yⁿ = zⁿ is unsolvable if n is any whole number greater than 2.

You're a genius! Not only could I not remember the word "superscript" but I also forgot the equation: Fermat's Last Theorem: xn + yn = zn is the one.
Thanks!

re: #141 Killgore Trout

Statement by the Islamic Society of North America:

Confirmed here: Islam and Homosexuality

I'm really really sorry. Please see my comment #77.

ICNA, not ISNA.

Two (R. Winchester)

re: #107 Ojoe

Last upside down year was 1961.

Won't be another till 6009.

When people born in 1980 turn 45, they'll be able to make the rare and unusual claim that their age (45) is the square root of the year (2025).

The last people who could claim this were people born in 1892, when they turned 44 in 1896. The next people to be able to claim this will be those born in 2070, when they turn 46 in 2116.

re: #133 Syrah

Pop Quiz

You have a bucket with 5 pounds of rocks and you have another bucket with 2 pounds of rocks.

How many buckets do you have?

7 pounds! ///

re: #131 lawhawk

Well, it didn't take long to go from Kerry visiting Syria to having Jeff Feltman from the State Department and Dan Shapiro from the White House visit Damascus to discuss bilateral issues.

Obama is running so hard and fast to push relations with regimes that have no interest in helping the US and giving up the farm in return that it makes the head spin.

Interestingly, though, John Kerry actually did something useful. He joined 43 other senators in signing a letter to Obama urging continued procurement of the F-22 Raptor. The Raptor may actually end up produced in useful if not really sufficent numbers.

re: #120 Dustyvet
A mathematician wandered home at 3 AM. His wife, quite naturally, became very upset. “You’re late!” she roarded at him. “You said you’d be home by 11:45!”

“No, no, no… I’m right on time,” said the mathematician, looking at his watch. “I said I’d be home by a quarter of twelve.”

re: #145 zombie

Ah, Ok.

re: #147 gmsc

When people born in 1980 turn 45, they'll be able to make the rare and unusual claim that their age (45) is the square root of the year (2025).

The last people who could claim this were people born in 1892, when they turned 44 in 1896 1936. The next people to be able to claim this will be those born in 2070, when they turn 46 in 2116.

re: #133 Syrah

Pop Quiz

You have a bucket with 5 pounds of rocks and you have another bucket with 2 pounds of rocks.

How many buckets do you have?

Unicorns are supposed to come with buckets.

re: #28 Naso Tang My Dad used a slide rule as a draftsman. He also brought home pocket protectors for my brothers when they were little. lol What a bunch of nerds. Thank God I was cool though. lol

///

re: #136 Occasional Reader

And so is the inability to perceive sarcasm, apparently.

I looked for sarc tags first. Didn't find any.

re: #62 Thanos

Yeah, I cribbed it from Wikipedia

Actually I meant this.
Supply side math

All your 1/2 base x height are belong to us

There's so much snow ☃ that I can't see the comet ☄.

Lizards, don't waste all of this math fu on each other! There are math challenged elected officials who desperately need your help!

Do it now, before the next stimulus bill makes it into the wild! Do it for the children^TM

re: #101 Kailen

3 squared is not 2009. Nor is (3+2)^2, (3*3)^2, or 33^2. If you have to truncate the date, or preform other manipulation, in order to make it somehow seem "special", then what is the bloody point?

Nerd.

"Students nowadays are so clueless", the math professor complains to a colleague. "Yesterday, a student came to my office hours and wanted to know if General Calculus was a Roman war hero..."

hey Lizards! Now, It's dark in Near Iowa.

I heard about this square root day on the radio today and wondered what kind of puns would be created on LGF as a result. I, of course, can come up with none when put on the spot.

How are you-all and what are we talking about?

re: #148 Sharmuta

7 pounds! ///

A winner!

Have you been doing the taxes for the some of Obama's appointees?

/ ;-D

re: #130 Madman2

#101, the month and day are multiplied to get the last two digits of the year. Some other square root days in our century were/are 1 January 2001, 2 February 2004, 3 March 2009, and the next will be 4 April 2016. Get it?

Oh, I get it, I just think it's really stupid. I could mathematically manipulate ANY date to be somehow "significant". It doesn't mean that it is significant. When everything is special, nothing is.

re: #159 zombie

There's so much snow ☃ that I can't see the comet ☄.

I bet you don't have a picture of my grandfather on there.

How is this helping Michelle's children?

All this math is making me dizzy.

/Oh wait, it's the beer. trying to subtract them from the fridge. :)

♂

re: #162 Dustyvet

Einstein dies and goes to heaven only to be informed that his room is not yet ready. “I hope you will not mind waiting in a dormitory. We are very sorry, but it’s the best we can do and you will have to share the room with others,” he is told by Peter. Einstein says that this is no problem at all and that there is no need to make such a great fuss.

So Pete leads him to the dorm. They enter and Albert is introduced to all of the present inhabitants. “See, Here is your first room mate. He has an IQ of 180!”

“Why that’s wonderful!” Says Albert. “We can discuss mathematics!”

“And here is your second room mate. His IQ is 150!”

“Why that’s wonderful!” Says Albert. “We can discuss physics!”

“And here is your third room mate. His IQ is 100!”

“That’s wonderful! We can discuss the latest plays at the theater!”

Just then another man moves out to capture Albert’s hand and shake it. “I’m your last room mate and I’m sorry, but my IQ is only 80.”

Albert smiles back at him and says, “So, where to you think interest rates are headed?”

re: #18 gmsc

And it'll happen on 5/5/25 and also 5/5/2525 if man is still alive. :)

re: #155 UberInfidel67

My Dad used a slide rule as a draftsman. He also brought home pocket protectors for my brothers when they were little. lol What a bunch of nerds. Thank God I was cool though. lol

///

I used to draw flow charts with a plastic template signifying the steps...and to think you can do that on Power Point or Visio now...

re: #157 Naso Tang

Actually I meant this.
Supply side math

Hahaha =)

re: #162 Dustyvet

"Students nowadays are so clueless", the math professor complains to a colleague. "Yesterday, a student came to my office hours and wanted to know if General Calculus was a Roman war hero..."

I grew up learning that Crispus was the son of Crunchius. Boy was I SO dissapointed to find out there was no Crunchius.

Math and Cows...

A CHRISTIAN: You have two cows. You keep one and give one to your neighbor.

A SOCIALIST: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.

A REPUBLICAN: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So what?

A DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You vote people into office who tax your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money and buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous.

A COMMUNIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk.

A FASCIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and sells you the milk. You join the underground and start a campaign of sabotage.

DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, then pours the milk down the drain.
/

Q: How did the mathmetician solve his constipation problem?

A: He worked it out with a pencil

re: #91 Cognito

I'm wandering far, far -- astronomically far -- from my own field here, but aren't mathematics based on unchanging logic?

You've got one apple. You add another apple. Now you've got two.

And so forth?

Actually, it's closer to the other way around, as logic is a branch of mathematics. Mathematics is the branch of science that studies quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form.

re: #159 zombie
OK. Give it up. How the HELL did you do that?

Zombie: Check with Pipes

re: #168 godfrey

How is this helping Michelle's children?

Learning math will help them find decent jobs.

re: #177 Shug

Nooo!

//

re: #160 Gearhead

Lizards, don't waste all of this math fu on each other! There are math challenged elected officials who desperately need your help!

Do it now, before the next stimulus bill makes it into the wild! Do it for the children^TM

Yes, there are more important things in the world than arguing amongst ourselves, or with idiots, about math.

Charles should not be posting about diversions like this.

re: #177 Shug

EWWW

re: #177 Shug

ew

re: #178 gmsc

Actually, it's closer to the other way around, as logic is a branch of mathematics. Mathematics is the branch of science that studies quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form.

I THOUGHT logic was a branch of philosophy. At least it was when I took logic in college. Has it changed?

re: #7 CynicalConservative

I actually still have a slide rule. It returns answers in black and white.

"Cynical" -

The slide rule STILL WORKS as does the ABACUS. Had One, gave it up in 1978 when I got a GOOD "Scientific Calculator" Thank You SHARP. The Slide Rule WILL work without a Battery - as will my RICOH XR-2 SLR (K-Mount) at 1/90 sec/"x-speed."

Question is, are all'y'all predicting a "Batteryless Future?"

Pray Tell.

-S-

re: #186 ggt

My husband had to take a quantitative logic class. It was pretty much statistics in disguise.

re: #160 Gearhead

Lizards, don't waste all of this math fu on each other! There are math challenged elected officials who desperately need your help!

Do it now, before the next stimulus bill makes it into the wild! Do it for the children^TM

Since you brought economics and math up together, this seems like a good place for a post I was saving for a different LGF thread, but has become relevant here.

See my next post...

gmsc's money tips #14:

Tip #7 dealt with capitalism as a philosophy. In this entry, I'm returning to that theme, but with a focus on optimism vs. pessimism.

That first philosophy tip included the Capitalism Tour. The basic philsosophies discussed there are expounded much further in Francisco d'Anconia's "Money Speech" from Atlas Shrugged. Despite this passage first being written in the 1950s, it captures the essence of what's happening in Washington today quite well.

Of course, many argue against capitalism by saying that socialism is preferable. It may seem complex to argue against socialism but Coyote Blog has an excellent 60-second refutation of socialism that was done at the beach!

Coyote Blog, as a matter of fact, has plenty of excellent posts on common misconceptions of capitalism. While you should explore the blog as a whole to find these great tidbits for yourself, I'd like to point to several excellent posts as starting points, including In Praise of "Robber Barons", Wealth Creation and the Zero-Sum Fallacy and A Zero-Sum Wealth Quiz.

The father of what you might call optimistic economics would have to be Julian Simon. Julian Simon is noted for his works The Ultimate Resource and The Ultimate Resource 2, which get their name from his belief that people are the ultimate resource, and their brainpower means that economics can never be zero-sum as long as people are free to think and create.

Julian Simon made a famous bet with noted economic doomsayer Paul Erlich in 1980. In it, they each agreed to certain amounts of certain selected comodities that totaled $10,000 on the day the bet was made.

Julian Simon bet that, in 10 years' time, the value of these selection would be lower due to improved technology. Paul Erlich bet that, due to increasing population and greater demand, those commodities would be scarcer, and the price would be higher.

If the total price was higher, Simon would have to send Erlich the difference. If the total price was lower, Erlich would have to pay Simon the difference. The result? In October 1990, Paul Erlich settled the bet by sending Julian Simon a check for $576.07.

You can learn more about the man and his intriguing economic views in the videos of the PRC Forum's interview with Julian Simon (The interview is available in 6 parts on YouTube, and this link will automatically play one after the other in order).

re: #156 gmsc

I looked for sarc tags first. Didn't find any.

Yes, all sarcastic quotes must, at all times, carry sarc tags. It's a rule.

/// [LOOK!]

Makes me wanna invest in a slide rule just to see if I can figure it out. I suck at anything other than basic math. Kudos to those who can figure it out.

re: #163 ggt

How about:

It happened on 12/12/144 but that was gross.

re: #193 Manifest Destiny

How about:

It happened on 12/12/144 but that was gross.

It happened on 1/1/1 but that was elementary.

I like this square trick.

n^2 + n + (n+1) = (n+1)^2.

Occasionally useful.

Math problems? Call 1-800-[(10x)(13i)2]-[sin(xy)/2.362x].

re: #194 Naso Tang

Nice!

re: #193 Manifest Destiny

How about:

It happened on 12/12/144 but that was gross.

oh geez!

My brain hurts on math.

re: #141 Killgore Trout

Statement by the Islamic Society of North America:

Confirmed here: Islam and Homosexuality

Wrong ones... ICNA, not ISNA

re: #196 Dustyvet

Math problems? Call 1-800-[(10x)(13i)2]-[sin(xy)/2.362x].

I used to call my Dear Ole Dad, but he can't do math anymore.

Now, I just have to wing it.

re: #196 Dustyvet

Math problems? Call 1-800-[(10x)(13i)2]-[sin(xy)/2.362x].

How bout this old one from Tech..

B4i4qRu/18QtPi

re: #172 Manifest Destiny

And it'll happen on 5/5/25 and also 5/5/2525 if man is still alive. :)

Couldn't resist...

re: #195 Mich-again

I like this square trick.

Occasionally useful.

Other than this one, any examples?

re: #204 Naso Tang

Other than this one, any examples?

Whats 31 squared?

30 is easy, 900. Then just add 30+31 to get 961.

re: #205 Mich-again

Sweet.

re: #180 Sharmuta

Zombie: Check with Pipes

Still looking for that specific anti-gay link.

re: #201 Mich-again

How bout this old one from Tech..

B4i4qRu/18QtPi

"The number you have dialed is imaginary. Please, rotate your phone by 90 degrees and try again..."

re: #195 Mich-again

I like this square trick.

Occasionally useful.

re: #205 Mich-again

Whats 31 squared?

30 is easy, 900. Then just add 30+31 to get 961.

Here's some handy money-related mental math tricks that occasionally come in handy.

A holiday just for nerds...and I didn't know about it.
shucks

e to the pi times i

re: #203 CynicalConservative

Awesome - I was wondering whether there was a "live" version.

Not to mix my rock analogies, but I like how they sat down on those Houses-of-the-Holy-like steps on the stage. That was great to see and hear again. Thanks for posting the vid.

re: #206 Basho

Sweet.

How about the old trick for adding up all the numbers from 1 to 100. That could take you an hour if you plug away or 10 seconds if you pair up from the edges. 0+100, 1+99, 2+98.. You get 50 ways to make 100 and 50 left over 5050. Boom done.

re: #205 Mich-again

That's also a handy one. Good jorb.

I'll be ready to fully celebrate the next Square Root Day on 4/4/16 when we have a new and vastly improved administration in the WH, having just served their first term and already a few months into the second.

re: #91 Cognito

I'm wandering far, far -- astronomically far -- from my own field here, but aren't mathematics based on unchanging logic?

You've got one apple. You add another apple. Now you've got two.

And so forth?

You perhaps confuse arithmetic with math. When you get into probabilities or, say, QM then one plus one may or may not equal two. You may not even be here at LGF at all.

re: #211 Manifest Destiny

Awesome - I was wondering whether there was a "live" version.

Not to mix my rock analogies, but I like how they sat down on those Houses-of-the-Holy-like steps on the stage. That was great to see and hear again. Thanks for posting the vid.

No prob. That song has stuck in my memory since the first time I heard it.

re: #205 Mich-again

Whats 31 squared?

30 is easy, 900. Then just add 30+31 to get 961.

Nice. I remember that I have forgotten a whole bunch of that kind of magic. I guess the problem was it never impressed girls.

re: #215 Naso Tang

You [91 cognito] perhaps confuse arithmetic with math. When you get into probabilities or, say, QM then one plus one may or may not equal two. You may not even be here at LGF at all.

There are Theories and there are Theorems. Perhaps confused it is you.

re: #209 gmsc

Some more good ones there. The Rule of 72 rules.

re: #216 CynicalConservative

No prob. That song has stuck in my memory since the first time I heard it.

Yeah, that is one of those that tickle something or other from a long time ago. Wish I could remember her name.

re: #209 gmsc

Here's some handy money-related mental math tricks that occasionally come in handy.

Thats a cool site. I think like that.

re: #218 Mich-again

There are Theories and there are Theorems. Perhaps confused it is you.

Semantics shemantics. Are you sure you don't have me confused with Cognito?

re: #222 Mich-again

Thats a cool site. I think like that.

Thank you! That's my site.

Feel free to take a look around it some more.
:)

re: #201 Mich-again

How bout this old one from Tech..

B4i4qRu/18QtPi

Dirty old man!

re: #91 Cognito

I'm wandering far, far -- astronomically far -- from my own field here, but aren't mathematics based on unchanging logic?

You've got one apple. You add another apple. Now you've got two.

And so forth?

Yes. Math has theorems. Not to be confused with theories

re: #225 Naso Tang

That was in 82.

re: #209 gmsc
Saving to show my kids too! Thanks

re: #227 Mich-again

That was in 82.

The last part would make a good license plate, but not for me.

Pi are round
Cornbread are square

This is a holiday I would celebrate.

re: #217 Naso Tang

It'll impress some girls, including Amy Mainzer from History Channel's "The Universe" series. I love it when she talks geek to me.

Link:

[Link: blogs.jpl.nasa.gov...]

Show of hands - who has used a sliderule?

/me

re: #233 jamgarr

Show of hands - who has used a sliderule?

/me

me

re: #209 gmsc

Here's some handy money-related mental math tricks that occasionally come in handy.

That's good. Sent it to my kids.

re: #233 jamgarr

Show of hands - who has used a sliderule?

/me

Is that the same as asking how old is everyone?

re: #236 Naso Tang

Is that the same as asking how old is everyone?

basically - anything over 50 and you've got a good shot

re: #232 Manifest Destiny

It'll impress some girls, including Amy Mainzer from History Channel's "The Universe" series. I love it when she talks geek to me.

Yeah, but would you get laid? Stick to the essentials.

re: #237 jamgarr

basically - anything over 50 and you've got a good shot

Oh well, I'm in. It was an expensive one too.

re: #233 jamgarr

Me too. Slide rules also rule, though maybe not as much as the Rule of 72, which is more portable.

re: #188 ArmyWife

My husband had to take a quantitative logic class. It was pretty much statistics in disguise.

In the military isn't this just really "Get a bigger gun"

What's the formula for the volume of a pizza with a radius of z and a thickness of a?

pi * z * z * a!

re: #240 Manifest Destiny

I see you've been lurking just long enough to get your hat tip upstream. Perhaps not the first, but a good eye for detail you have.

re: #244 Ateam

WTF?

re: #244 Ateam

I like d primate number squer root. 23 for example.

Are you dissin' Michael Jordan?

re: #238 Naso Tang

Good point. Since there are an alarmingly low number of females as a percentage in the "hard sciences" such as math and physics, the answer would have to unfortunately be no. But it would impress the ones that do pursue education and careers in such, and hopefully over time there will be more women that do pursue such fields, because there's no reason why they shouldn't or can't.

Somehow I think there is a connection between Pi and the number (in radians) that is it's own cosine. I haven't named it yet.

re: #243 Naso Tang

I am truly humbled and happy to have been honored with a hat tip. I sent it to Charles because if President Bush had made that same mistake, there would have been a firestorm of a response in the media. Instead, crickets and cicadas sing a rare and different tune.

re: #248 Mich-again

Somehow I think there is a connection between Pi and the number (in radians) that is it's own cosine. I haven't named it yet.

I think you are trying to turn off the remaining math wannabees here with that kind of talk. Ateam one could at least respond to concisely.

It's been fun. We didn't rock any fundamentals in this thread, but it did remind me that I would have wished I had the talents of some I knew back in college days, beyond the engineering stuff that I did.

Like music, some have it some don't. It would be cool if they could have an American Idol/Math one day.

Goodnight. Time to retire.

I'm holding out for the next Prime progression day: 5/7/2011

re: #19 LGoPs

We should bake a pie in honor of square root day. Of course it couldn't be the traditional round one because pie are square, as everyone knows.

This is my favorite comment ever.

I am such a geek.

Hitchers Guide to the Galaxy:

Marvin: "Square root number day, I have waited so long and then, poof, it is gone, how depressing, how utterly depressing"

re: #1 Mich-again

Imaginary number thread?

It's all about I.

re: #246 Mich-again

Are you dissin' Michael Jordan?

No hurting fillings 4 Jordan "The Great"!

For ever we shell remember him ignoring d gravitation.

3/3 = 0.99999999999999999999 day!

Busy month for math students like me. First we get Square Root Day today, then we have only 11 days to rest up for Pi Day. I don't know how I'm going to do it.

re: #247 Manifest Destiny

Good point. Since there are an alarmingly low number of females as a percentage in the "hard sciences" such as math and physics, the answer would have to unfortunately be no. But it would impress the ones that do pursue education and careers in such, and hopefully over time there will be more women that do pursue such fields, because there's no reason why they shouldn't or can't.

It's unlikely that the percentage pursuing these careers, in a society that honors free will and equal opportunity, will reach 50. The data from the few nations that most vigorously encourage girls in math and science suggest that the numbers in the U.S. could be considerably higher than they are. But even in those societies, it doesn't hit 50-50.

The careers of some women scientists suggest part of an explanation. Irene Pepperberg is a brilliant scientist. She would have been an excellent chemist. She was in grad school studying chemistry. Doing fine. But wait. Wouldn't parrots be more fun? Her real calling turned out to be the study of bird intelligence, and she made a big impact.

An alarming percentage of men who are physical chemists have no interest in parrots and no talent for training them. Men tend to be more single-minded than women. This is not good or bad, it just is. And the consequence is that women are more likely to divert to other worthy goals in life. Arlene Blum did some fine work in chemistry too, but ended up forging a career as an alpinist.

It is extremely rare for anyone to switch careers into the hard sciences. It's early or never. The wide reach of womens' minds has as a consequence, in any free society with opportunity, that more of them are going to get sidetracked...to other worthy callings, but still, it erodes their numbers in the hard sciences.

The other thing is that Summers may have had a point. If the hard sciences are like chess, then there just aren't as many women as men with a talent several standard deviations up the curve. There are women grandmasters, and women who play at a standard that would have earned a world championship against the competition of earlier days. But men have improved their training and discipline as well, and they still dominate the game.

The situation in the hard sciences is not as extreme. There have been times when the best chemist in the world was a woman---say, Marie Curie. Biology ought to count as a hard science, and we have Barbara McClintock there. In math, there are names that are famous in the field---connoisseurs of wavelets will nod. Women have placed among the top five on national level math contests with increasing frequency. But the day when all of the top five are women, a day whose mirror image still occurs from time to time, seems a remote prospect.

Once society has done its best to make the hard sciences an attractive option for women, to encourage and nurture their talent, to welcome their contributions, and to maintain a vigilant watch against unjust practices, the job is done. If the numbers still don't come out equal, that's not discrimination.

re: #186 ggt

I THOUGHT logic was a branch of philosophy. At least it was when I took logic in college. Has it changed?

Just about every study is a branch of philosophy! Mathematics is a branch of philosophy, and logic is a branch of mathematics, so logic is a branch of philosophy.

re: #129 Spare O'Lake

Damnit... I was too late to the party to spring that one. ;)

been really busy, but I thought I should post on this thread.
I didn't even read through the thread, just a post and run.

cheers,
rsquare

I failed algebra. But I did understand the quadratic equation in summer school. I'll wait until QE day to celebrate...