Random Thoughts Part 5: Time to Split Again

[1oldman2]

What's your favourite chocolate? I like milk that is not too sweet (Milka is too sweet). Between 40-60% of cocoa is my ideal :-) that might classify as dark, I'm not sure.

Based on that I think you would love dark chocolate.

 

[Psinter]

A horde. Whole cases. Stacked to the ceiling. A future without need or want. TOTAL SECURITY!

Now we are talking.

What's your favourite chocolate?

If it's normal milk chocolate I can eat tons of it. If it is dark chocolate (which is awesome), I can eat only small amounts as I get staggered quickly by it.

 

[collinsmark]

Good god I just ran out of Tabasco sauce.

Tabasco sauce is the mainstay of my dietary intake. Thank goodness for the flexibility of Sriracha. That should hold me off until I make it to the market.

 

[WWGD]

More importantly, it's seven days past Leap Day.
.

Aka, 1453 days until next leap. Bad year for tables in 3NF: No dependency on Mon-keys in year of the Mon-key.

 

[Pepper Mint]

Aka, 1453 days until next leap. Bad year for tables in 3NF: No dependency on Mon-keys in year of the Mon-key.

I have always been fascinated by solar and lunar calendar calculation. Our ancestors clearly did an amazing job. Only looking at decimal numbers used to calculate phases of the Moon and Sun really hurts my head.

By the way, I have been lately falling for tricks to teach secondary school kids about ways to represent numbers and their relations with simple division and multiplication.
For example, 12 x 13 = 12 x (12+1)
If I knew 12^2=144 then I'd only need to compute 144+12 then such a yielded result was what I expected from 12 x 13.
Do you know any other ways to do this ? Some interesting classic Indian, Egyptian or Chinese methods you know of ?

 

[1oldman2]

By the way, I have been lately falling for tricks to teach secondary school kids about ways to represent numbers and their relations with simple division and multiplication.
For example, 12 x 13 = 12 x (12+1)
If I knew 12^2=144 then I'd only need to compute 144+12 then such a yielded result was what I expected from 12 x 13.
Do you know any other ways to do this ? Some interesting classic Indian, Egyptian or Chinese methods you know of ?

All I can say is I wish you were my teacher when I was in school, great approach

 

[Sophia]

I have always been fascinated by solar and lunar calendar calculation. Our ancestors clearly did an amazing job. Only looking at decimal numbers used to calculate phases of the Moon and Sun really hurts my head.

By the way, I have been lately falling for tricks to teach secondary school kids about ways to represent numbers and their relations with simple division and multiplication.
For example, 12 x 13 = 12 x (12+1)
If I knew 12^2=144 then I'd only need to compute 144+12 then such a yielded result was what I expected from 12 x 13.
Do you know any other ways to do this ? Some interesting classic Indian, Egyptian or Chinese methods you know of ?

Good luck with your teaching! Middle school teachers are heroes, especially the creative ones.

 

[Ibix]

I have always been fascinated by solar and lunar calendar calculation. Our ancestors clearly did an amazing job. Only looking at decimal numbers used to calculate phases of the Moon and Sun really hurts my head.

By the way, I have been lately falling for tricks to teach secondary school kids about ways to represent numbers and their relations with simple division and multiplication.
For example, 12 x 13 = 12 x (12+1)
If I knew 12^2=144 then I'd only need to compute 144+12 then such a yielded result was what I expected from 12 x 13.
Do you know any other ways to do this ? Some interesting classic Indian, Egyptian or Chinese methods you know of ?

You can extend this to writing both numbers as sums. So 12x13 = (10+2)x(10+3) = 100+20+30+6. Or you can decompose numbers into primes and look for parts you happen to know. For example if you play cards at all you probably know that two suits (13 cards each) are 26 cards. So write 12x13 = 6x2x13 = 6x26. Then notice that multiples if 25 are easy since the pattern repeats quickly and write 6x(25+1) = 150+6.

Edit: 3x4x13 = 3x52 = 3x (50+2) is probably even more obvious from cards.

 

[Psinter]

This is Translator vs my knowledge in English. What translator says:

Hello, Silicon Waffle friend: how are you doing? I hope you should be fine. Today I fed the birdies outside. They looked pretty good. How was it your day?

What I actually meant:

Hey there, Silicon Waffle. How are you? I hope you are fine. Today I went outside and fed the little birds. They looked so cute. How was your day?

Which one do you guys think wins?

EDIT: This was a test. I didn't feed any birds. And Silicon Waffle is because it was the first name that came to mind when testing.

 

[JorisL]

I just saw Quorn Cordon Bleu in the store.

Why didn't they use the opportunity to call it Quorndon Bleu :-(

So many opportunities not taken.

 

[Psinter]

This: I want to see this movie!

I love bunnies! Here is the trailer.

 

[BornCane]

John Von Neumann was the most brilliant mind of the 20th century and one of the greatest geniuses of all time, as a mathematician he ranks up there with Grothendieck and Hilbert for the 20th century

he has to be considered the last true polymath before the age of specialization

 

[zoobyshoe]

A polymath is a person who knows a lot about a lot of subjects. If your friend is not only a brilliant physics student but has also published a poetry collection and won prizes at political debates, you can describe her as a polymath.

You can think of a polymath as a classic "Renaissance man." Imagine Leonardo da Vinci, for example, who was not only an amazing artist, but also an engineer, inventor, mathematician, and much more. When a person's knowledge covers many different areas, he or she is a polymath. The Greek word for it is polymathes, "having learned much," with poly meaning "much," and manthanein meaning "learn."

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/polymath

 

[Sophia]

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/polymath

Thanks for the vocab. We call such person a "polyhistor" and it seems quite a foreign word to me so I might have used it somewhere assuming it was the same in English. Now I'll remember the proper term :-)

 

[WWGD]

I just saw Quorn Cordon Bleu in the store.

Why didn't they use the opportunity to call it Quorndon Bleu :-(

So many opportunities not taken.

It would go pretty good with a Quorn Dog.

 

[BornCane]

who is everyone's favorite scientist of all time ( can be any natural science (biology, chemistry, physics etc.) or any formal science like (mathematics, computer science)

and why?

 

[wolram]

This is Translator vs my knowledge in English. What translator says:

What I actually meant:

Which one do you guys think wins?

EDIT: This was a test. I didn't feed any birds. And Silicon Waffle is because it was the first name that came to mind when testing.

The second is more correct, you must have Silicon Waffle on your mind

 

[Psinter]

The second is more correct, you must have Silicon Waffle on your mind

Haha, take that, Translator.

Nah, Silicon Waffle is on the database... On the site database.

 

[JorisL]

Oh boy, if my back-of-the-envelope calculations pan out I'm in for a lot more work than anticipated (like exponential).
And this while I was approaching threshold to write a sufficient thesis with 2 months left to expand :-(

Note to self; never assume significant simplifications are actually true regardless of what's said in the paper.

 

[WWGD]

John Von Neumann was the most brilliant mind of the 20th century and one of the greatest geniuses of all time, as a mathematician he ranks up there with Grothendieck and Hilbert for the 20th century

he has to be considered the last true polymath before the age of specialization

Maybe to be more accurate he is one for which the natural intelligence and talent came together with other circumstances in the right way to allow him to develop his talents. To cite an extreme illustration, had he been born, e.g., in Africa at that time, it is not certain he would have accomplished any thing at all. Talent and genius, intelligence are definitely necessary, but not sufficient.

 

[JorisL]

Oh boy, if my back-of-the-envelope calculations pan out I'm in for a lot more work than anticipated (like exponential).
And this while I was approaching threshold to write a sufficient thesis with 2 months left to expand :-(

Note to self; never assume significant simplifications are actually true regardless of what's said in the paper.

It is as I expected, a lot of work up ahead. Although I found some arguments to get rid of the exponential increase.
It'll probably only double or so.

 

[BornCane]

Maybe to be more accurate he is one for which the natural intelligence and talent came together with other circumstances in the right way to allow him to develop his talents. To cite an extreme illustration, had he been born, e.g., in Africa at that time, it is not certain he would have accomplished any thing at all. Talent and genius, intelligence are definitely necessary, but not sufficient.

to be fair...

I don't really find that argument interesting

cause that could literally apply to anybody that has made intellectual discoveries or contributions

for example

"Einstein wasn't that intelligent, what about the hypothetical poor boy in Russia who never had that chance"

"Feynman he wasn't that smart, what about this girl from Africa etc. etc."

I don't dispute that environment plays a role, its just that argument too me, seems a cop out way to disregard anybody's intellectual achievements by coming up with some hypothetical about some person who is just as "good" out there

That's just the way i see these arguments

 

[WWGD]

to be fair...

I don't really find that argument interesting

cause that could literally apply to anybody that has made intellectual discoveries or contributions

for example

"Einstein wasn't that intelligent, what about the hypothetical poor boy in Russia who never had that chance"

"Feynman he wasn't that smart, what about this girl from Africa etc. etc."

I don't dispute that environment plays a role, its just that argument too me, seems a cop out way to disregard anybody's intellectual achievements by coming up with some hypothetical about some person who is just as "good" out there

That's just the way i see these arguments

I never disregarded neither his accomplishments nor his talents. I said talent and intelligence as _necessary_ , meaning I believe he did have the talent and intelligence. EDIT I only pointed out that many things (including intelligence) need to come together just the right way.

 

[Enigman]

E̲̤̥̳̜͓̝͖͖̰̙̳̎͗̎̾ͨṅ͓̹͕̫̭͍͖̲͚̖̦̣̥͓ͧ̽́ͩ̈́t̙͕͍̦̙̤̻̼̳͓̼̬͚͙̭̝̲̯̄̄ͫ̏̓́͗̈́͒ͨ͒ͯ̚ṟ̻̥̳̟̞̪̜͕ͧ͋̑͒̇̎͊̚ö͔̣̥͔̰̰̯̼͖̙͙̘̤́̐ͤ̂͋̒̐͗͐̑̅͂ͨ͗ͅp̼̠̤̜̅̏̎ͬ̈̍̾̓͆͂̒̓̚y̫͎̺̣̱͕̞͍͉͓̠̹̺̼͔̾ͫͪ̅̈́ͨ̊̓ͬ̔́ͨ͌ͅ ̖̠͇̩͚̙͊ͯ͊ͦ̃̒̒̽̽ͦͬͯͫ͆H͎̝̦̦͈͈̙͈̼̺͔͕̮̤̰̲̰̟̀ͭ̐̈́̃̈́ͅa̻͉̱͈̼͇͖ͩ̇͂ͨͨ̑ͭp̤̱̙̘͕̳̺̣̟̘͖̟̹̘̊ͫ͑͗ͫͪ͊ͦͧ̃̎̇́ͯ̚ͅͅp͈̺͔̟̪̺̝͔̏͑ͤ̄̅̒̌ë͈̭̗̼̠̠́̽ͤͫͣͮͫ̉͊ͥn̰̫͖̯̲̲̬̞̱̰͎ͩ̈̓ͯ̐̌̾ͫ̍̓ͩ͋̂̂̉̑́ͣs̺̟̖̰̘͎̙̭̯̫̞̭̼͙̱̪͙̼̏͌̈́ͫ̊́ͣ̓͋̐̆.̗͉̜̠̘̦̊̽̐ͣ

 

[WWGD]

I don't know why so many people mention 3/14 as Pi day but not 3/16 as $\sqrt(10)$ day , given that 3.16 is a better approximation
to $\sqrt(10)$ than 3.14 is of $\pi$, meaning $\pi -3.14 > \sqrt(10) -3.16$.

 

[collinsmark]

I don't know why so many people mention 3/14 as Pi day but not 3/16 as $\sqrt(10)$ day , given that 3.16 is a better approximation
to $\sqrt(10)$ than 3.14 is of $\pi$, meaning $\pi -3.14 > \sqrt(10) -3.16$.

Transcendental heresy! (get the pitchforks)

 

[Pepper Mint]

E̲̤̥̳̜͓̝͖͖̰̙̳̎͗̎̾ͨṅ͓̹͕̫̭͍͖̲͚̖̦̣̥͓ͧ̽́ͩ̈́t̙͕͍̦̙̤̻̼̳͓̼̬͚͙̭̝̲̯̄̄ͫ̏̓́͗̈́͒ͨ͒ͯ̚ṟ̻̥̳̟̞̪̜͕ͧ͋̑͒̇̎͊̚ö͔̣̥͔̰̰̯̼͖̙͙̘̤́̐ͤ̂͋̒̐͗͐̑̅͂ͨ͗ͅp̼̠̤̜̅̏̎ͬ̈̍̾̓͆͂̒̓̚y̫͎̺̣̱͕̞͍͉͓̠̹̺̼͔̾ͫͪ̅̈́ͨ̊̓ͬ̔́ͨ͌ͅ ̖̠͇̩͚̙͊ͯ͊ͦ̃̒̒̽̽ͦͬͯͫ͆H͎̝̦̦͈͈̙͈̼̺͔͕̮̤̰̲̰̟̀ͭ̐̈́̃̈́ͅa̻͉̱͈̼͇͖ͩ̇͂ͨͨ̑ͭp̤̱̙̘͕̳̺̣̟̘͖̟̹̘̊ͫ͑͗ͫͪ͊ͦͧ̃̎̇́ͯ̚ͅͅp͈̺͔̟̪̺̝͔̏͑ͤ̄̅̒̌ë͈̭̗̼̠̠́̽ͤͫͣͮͫ̉͊ͥn̰̫͖̯̲̲̬̞̱̰͎ͩ̈̓ͯ̐̌̾ͫ̍̓ͩ͋̂̂̉̑́ͣs̺̟̖̰̘͎̙̭̯̫̞̭̼͙̱̪͙̼̏͌̈́ͫ̊́ͣ̓͋̐̆.̗͉̜̠̘̦̊̽̐ͣ

How could you make that ?

 

[BornCane]

I never disregarded neither his accomplishments nor his talents. I said talent and intelligence as _necessary_ , meaning I believe he did have the talent and intelligence. EDIT I only pointed out that many things (including intelligence) need to come together just the right way.

your right i misread your post
my apologies

 

[WWGD]

your right i misread your post
my apologies

No problem, I have misread plenty of posts myself.

 

[WWGD]

Transcendental heresy! (get the pitchforks)

But this is just a very basic approximation, how do transcendentals enter the picture?

 

[collinsmark]

But this is just a very basic approximation, how do transcendentals enter the picture?

$\pi$ is a transcendental number (i.e., it is not algebraic). $\sqrt{10}$ on the other hand is algebraic (thus not transcendental).

[Edit: besides, Pi day is one of my favorite days of the year.]

 

[BornCane]

$\pi$ is a transcendental number (i.e., it is not algebraic). $\sqrt{10}$ on the other hand is algebraic (thus not transcendental).

[Edit: besides, Pi day is one of my favorite days of the year.]

i always wondered

where does the word "Pi" come from?

 

[WWGD]

$\pi$ is a transcendental number (i.e., it is not algebraic). $\sqrt{10}$ on the other hand is algebraic (thus not transcendental).

[Edit: besides, Pi day is one of my favorite days of the year.]

True, but this is kind of heavy-handed for a pop-culture thing. But we can talk more about it on February 7 , 2018 ;).

 

[WWGD]

i always wondered

where does the word "Pi" come from?

I think it is a letter from the Greek alphabet.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I lost 8 pounds in the last month. The secret is a combination of eating less and switching some of what you do eat to less fattening food. But I guess that's common knowledge. Not much of a secret. And if it was, it isn't any more.