Talk about all Math related topics.
History of Mathematics
Math problems
Music and Mathematics
Math discoveries
Mathematics and beauty
Your everyday life and Math
Math Science Math
Go ahead!
Talk about all Math related topics.
History of Mathematics
Math problems
Music and Mathematics
Math discoveries
Mathematics and beauty
Your everyday life and Math
Math Science Math
Go ahead!
Um… 2+2=?
Is that what you mean? Is that scientific math?
I thinks PDEs are an invention of the devil. My 0,02$ on math.
When I was in high school, I was convinced I could create a formula where I just needed to bring in some data to solve all my problems.
Will that girl love me? F()=0 –--> solve this and you'll know.
I hate math and I'm bad at it. I should stay away from this thread.
I think I failed my geometry quiz.
Any of you tried to solve the Königsberg bridge problem?
What is infinity divided by zero?
Alright, this is for you AP mathematicians, this math problem has bugged me for years:
_**"Three guys walk into a bar, they eat, drink and then decide to leave, so, they ask the waiter for the bill, he tells them it'll be 30 dollars.
The three guys decide to divide the bill equally so each one of them has to pay 10 dollars.The waiter walks to the cashier with the 30 dollars but the cashier tells the waiter that the three guys earned a Friday's special discount so the bill will be 25 dollars instead.
He gives five dollars to the waiter, who now walks back towards the three guys. However, instead of returning the five dollars he decides to keep (steal) 2 dollars, and gives back only 3 dollars. The three guys take each 1 dollar to make it fair.
So, if each one of them had paid 10 dollars and now they were given back 1 dollar each, that means each one of them paid only 9 dollars.
If we multiply 9 dollars by 3, that means they paid a total of 27 dollars, if we add the two dollars that the waiter kept for himself, that would be a total of 29 dollars.
We started the problem with 30 dollars… where is the lost dollar??!**"_
I'm taking Differential Equations this semester. I love it, the professor is awesome, but the class sucks. Our grades are based purely on online quizzes (three question multiple choice) and exams, of which our class has the most difficult (average on the first test was a 63). Very interesting material, though. There's a lot of neat tricks I've picked up. Euler's formula (e^ix=cosx+isinx) is my favorite, since I love the proof (Taylor series are one of my favorite mathematical concepts).
Euler's formula (e^ix=cosx+isinx) is my favorite, since I love the proof (Taylor series are one of my favorite mathematical concepts).
My brain explodes when x = pi.
What is infinity divided by zero?
Undefined (but not an indeterminate form, iirc).
I'm taking Linear Algebra next semester for fun, as I expected to be (permanently!) employed by then. I have a degree in Economics, and in econ we used matrices a lot, yet I was never required to take any serious mathematics courses in it and I don't understand why. That, plus game theory, would have simplified a lot of the descriptive/statistical analysis. Stuff isn't even relevant in Finance though.
I've come to realize that my Algebra training is insufficient for the "engineer" Calculus I'm taking, or at least the operations I sometimes use are wrong algebraically. This makes me sad/annoyed because I was always proud of my algebraic skills, so I guess I didn't get enough varied practice in the past.
Alright, this is for you AP mathematicians, this math problem has bugged me for years:
You're looking at it the wrong way. Each guy paid nine dollars, but two of said dollars are in the waiter's pocket. When you say that the waiter took two dollars and the guys paid tewenty-seven, you have to realize that the two dollars the waiter took are part of said twenty-seven, whereas the remaining three dollars are in the customers' pockets.
You're looking at it the wrong way. Each guy paid nine dollars, but two of said dollars are in the waiter's pocket. When you say that the waiter took two dollars and the guys paid twenty-seven, you have to realize that the two dollars the waiter took are part of said twenty-seven, whereas the remaining three dollars are in the customers' pockets.
Haha, you solved it pretty quickly. It was supposed to be a math puzzle!! Thanks for the explanation!!
EDIT: Going back to the main topic, I only had to take up to Calculus 2 and that was almost 4 years ago so I don't remember much of it… Euler's formula?, Königsberg bridge problem?... those names just sound crazy.
Alright, this is for you AP mathematicians, this math problem has bugged me for years:
_**"Three guys walk into a bar, they eat, drink and then decide to leave, so, they ask the waiter for the bill, he tells them it'll be 30 dollars.
The three guys decide to divide the bill equally so each one of them has to pay 10 dollars.The waiter walks to the cashier with the 30 dollars but the cashier tells the waiter that the three guys earned a Friday's special discount so the bill will be 25 dollars instead.
He gives five dollars to the waiter, who now walks back towards the three guys. However, instead of returning the five dollars he decides to keep (steal) 2 dollars, and gives back only 3 dollars. The three guys take each 1 dollar to make it fair.
So, if each one of them had paid 10 dollars and now they were given back 1 dollar each, that means each one of them paid only 9 dollars.
If we multiply 9 dollars by 3, that means they paid a total of 27 dollars, if we add the two dollars that the waiter kept for himself, that would be a total of 29 dollars.
We started the problem with 30 dollars… where is the lost dollar??!**"_
They pay 30. Then they are told it's only 25. When the waiter steals 2 of their change its 27. Which is what they payed. The mistake you probably made, is to to belive in what is written there. So did I on first pass. But it's not 27+2 but 25+2 that they have to pay. Add the 3 that they got back and you have 30 again. :)
Too bad stuff like this is not what they teach you in math at the university. I wish I shared your enthusiasm Wagomu. :happy:
I love math! No, seriously. It's awesome.
@Caxxo:
Any of you tried to solve the Königsberg bridge problem?
I actually took an entire class on graph theory (check out the history section for the Konigsberg problem). It's a very interesting branch of math and has nothing to do with calculus, analysis, differential equations or most of what people generally associate with mathematics. You might also be interested to know that the "super difficult" problems in Good Will Hunting are really just elementary problems in graph theory!
And Wagomu, if you really like Taylor series, you should check out other series-based topics like Fourier Series and Telescoping series.
Wow, a Mathematics thread. lol
I'm taking Advanced Mathematics (the subject name may vary in another country) now and as far as I'm concerned, I like it. Though not much calculus involved so far(loves calculus). Just complex number conversion from Rectangular to Polar to Exponential and all.. I'm expecting it to be much harder soon to the point that I'll hate it as much as I hate Engineering Mechanics.:ninja:
Anybody wants to explain more about De Moivre's?
I modified the normal economics major with math because your average pure econ major is a douchey buffoon here…
As such, I've so far enjoyed diff eqs. and discrete probability, and struggled miserably through linear algebra. Currently taking "The Mathematics of Finance" (which involves Black-Scholes Merton, Brownian Motion, and Ito), and I'm planning on Real Analysis next term, whatever that is.
Math grades are consistently my worst ones, but I like to think that that's just because it's totally the most legit and therefore appropriately difficult subject ever. My stupid friends getting straight A's in a series of comparative literature classes just don't get it.
I dropped every form of maths two years ago.
Fucking hate it.
I thinks PDEs are an invention of the devil. My 0,02$ on math.
I hate math and I'm bad at it. I should stay away from this thread.
@Tijnn.:
I dropped every form of maths two years ago.
Fucking hate it.
Whyyyyyy? Math is just pure logic, what's there to hate about it?
I used to love math, when I was like a wizz in it without a lot of effort, but then I started engineering studies, it became too difficult and I grew out of love of math.
Now I try to hype myself back into it. I plan to start some pure math studies next year, so I'm rehearsing.
stabs ice with fork for comment
I needed a tutor just to pass highschool math. I dread ever needing those skills again. I forget EVERYTHING.
Whyyyyyy? Math is just pure logic, what's there to hate about it?
I used to love math, when I was like a wizz in it without a lot of effort, but then I started engineering studies, it became too difficult and I grew out of love of math.
You just gave the answer yourself
!
and that's just a differantiation…
@RDrrn:
I'm taking Advanced Mathematics (the subject name may vary in another country) now and as far as I'm concerned, I like it. Though not much calculus involved so far(loves calculus). Just complex number conversion from Rectangular to Polar to Exponential and all.. I'm expecting it to be much harder soon to the point that I'll hate it as much as I hate Engineering Mechanics.:ninja:
Engineering Mechanics as in Statics, Elastostatics and Kinetics? Or as in Fulid- and Thermodynamics? Cause the latter two are kinda hard, while I enjoyed the former three.
I actually took an entire class on graph theory (check out the history section for the Konigsberg problem). It's a very interesting branch of math and has nothing to do with calculus, analysis, differential equations or most of what people generally associate with mathematics. You might also be interested to know that the "super difficult" problems in Good Will Hunting are really just elementary problems in graph theory!
It is quite interesting. Since I take Comp Sci, I've only looked at graph traversal algorithms (Kruskal, Dijkstra, Prim), though.
I am not talented in Math but I can't deny how freaking important they are.
They are one of the main reasons an economy can work. Consequently, peace in developed countries.
Also our perception of the world, everything we touch and see. Our ipods, our computers, the way civilization is shaped.
A world without math would be chaos.
You just gave the answer yourself
! [qimg]http://lolbyte.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/XVWEp.jpg[/qimg]
and that's just a differantiation…
That doesn't look too bad. just a bit tedious. Plus, I would assume that the a values are constants, but without any given information we can't really do anything about it.
I'm taking Higher Level Math as part of the IB program in my school.
I'm probably one of the worst students in my class, but hey, it is the hardest math course in my school. In fact, if I get a good grade in this course, I'll be able to completely skip first year uni math.
Co-incidentally, we just had a lesson about De Moivre's theorem on Friday.
It is quite interesting. Since I take Comp Sci, I've only looked at graph traversal algorithms (Kruskal, Dijkstra, Prim), though.
A lot of graph theory is done with computers these days; mainly because it's so darn hard! While it is trivial to show if a graph is Eulerian (Koningsberg bridge problem), it is extremely difficult to show that a graph is Hamiltonian. So we have computers do it! They are also frequently used for colorings, planarity calculations, etc
Other famous graph theory problems:
-Knights Tour
-4 Colors Theorem
To people who say they hate math:
As Ice has said, Math is just logic; it's pure thought and solving a problem is the power of the human mind triumphing over the mysterious universe we live in. I suspect that most people don't like it because of the way it is presented in schools and their emphasis on trigonometry, calculus and repeated problem solving. Taking a proof-based course (staring from the ground up and deriving everything) in almost any math subject is an enlightening experience.
I had written an long text here. When I was done writing and read through it once more, I figured out it can be summarized in just one little sentence:
I'm an engineer not a mathematician.
Sorry to intrude on your thread.
As an engineer I don't care why the Stokes theorem is true and where is comes from. Using it to make the calculation of an energy flow over a surface easier is enough. Instead we get pages upon pages of derivation that 95% of us don't get at all.
Understanding is one of the highest ideals we can aspire to, and abandoning it in favor of blindly plugging in numbers makes me sick.
The as'? Yeah probably. Could stand for two different materials or something. I didn't make the picture and I don't know the wider context. V=Volume, P=Pressure, T=Temperature, v=specific Volume and n=molar mass, R is the universal gas constant. The point however is even this applicable stuff is getting so lengthy and little assessable that I find it hard to like. As for the really new and harder stuff that you did not learn at school, we did not need it a lot in other classes so far, and when we did, the professors in these subjects gave better explanations than the math professors. As an engineer I don't care why the Stokes theorem is true and where is comes from. Using it to make the calculation of an energy flow over a surface easier is enough. Instead we get pages upon pages of derivation that 95% of us don't get at all.
It's really just showboating of what people did in the past to give the entire field a feeling of prestige. 90% of stuff you learn at university/college is useless anyway. You just go there to get your degree. Afterwards, you get taught the useful practical stuff when they train you at the career you chose.
Understanding is one of the highest ideals we can aspire to, and abandoning it in favor of blindly plugging in numbers makes me sick.
There you go with your naive idealism again.
This forum needs more math.
@Thousand:
There you go with your naive idealism again.
The ignorance rests squarely in your camp once again, Lion-friend. I understand quite well that applying math to the real world is incredibly useful. I'm a physicist! My job is to apply mathematical theoretical/ideal models to the real world! However, I also understand that playing with weapons that you don't understand is stupid and dangerous. You'll just have to get used to the fact that (thank god) not everyone thinks like you do.
@Thousand:
It's really just showboating of what people did in the past to give the entire field a feeling of prestige. 90% of stuff you learn at university/college is useless anyway. You just go there to get your degree. Afterwards, you get taught the useful practical stuff when they train you at the career you chose.
My god, this paragraph…
Understanding is one of the highest ideals we can aspire to, and abandoning it in favor of blindly plugging in numbers makes me sick.
And if we all go after our highest ideals we will be back in stone age within ten years. The world needs people that dig holes in the ground for construction just as much as it needs people who dig for understanding. Plowing the fields of the land is no less a task than plowing the fields of math. Try understand this.
Just for fun.
6cAs1YBELmA
And if we all go after our highest ideals we will be back in stone age within ten years. The world needs people that dig holes in the ground for construction just as much as it needs people who dig for understanding. Plowing the fields of the land is no less a task than plowing the fields of math. Try understand this.
Oh, I do. But understanding Stoke's Theorem would take you maybe an hour, and I'm willing to risk that hour sending humanity plummeting into the stone age. I have absolutely no problem with applying math, I just didn't like that you were discounting the value of understanding it too.
Anyway, I've got work to do, so let's just all agree that math is awesome :)
The ignorance rests squarely in your camp once again, Lion-friend. I understand quite well that applying math to the real world is incredibly useful. I'm a physicist! My job is to apply mathematical theoretical/ideal models to the real world!
And I am a university student majoring in Biology and Chemistry. As such, I would have appreciated if someone cut out the computer programming, geography,history of science (twice they gave us this crap, two subjects that practically overlapped in the content) and marketing bullshit among other stuff that was clearly only put there to make our credits total 60.
However, I also understand that playing with weapons that you don't understand is stupid and dangerous.
Equating numbers to guns, lol.
You'll just have to get used to the fact that (thank god) not everyone thinks like you do.
Yeah, they're called the minority.
My god, this paragraph…
You can use hyperbole all you want, it's true. I'm a third year and I don't really remember anything I did these three years. And just to make sure there wasn't something wrong with me, everyone I asked about this said they were in the same boat. My best friend who's almost graduated (his course is one year less than mine) is the same. He has interest in teaching photochemistry and doesn't have a clue during lectures. However he's also working practically daily on his thesis involving the analysis of a compound via ultra-violet spectroscopy and he;s having no trouble there. People learn from practice and experience not numbers on a board.
Edit: But if you wanna stop, that's fine too.
Haha, you solved it pretty quickly. It was supposed to be a math puzzle!! Thanks for the explanation!!
EDIT: Going back to the main topic, I only had to take up to Calculus 2 and that was almost 4 years ago so I don't remember much of it… Euler's formula?, Königsberg bridge problem?... those names just sound crazy.
Well to be precise, it's a logic problem, or a logic mind-exercise if you will. Not a math problem. Mathematically nothing here needs to be solved. At least that is my view.
EDIT: Also, the fox's answer was very good
2nd EDIT: I recently read Simon Singhs book about Fermats equation and the epic (yes it really was quite epic) quest of finding a solution to it. I recommend it to anyone with any interest in math.
Alright, I don't particularly mind math, and I suppose I'm good at it as I am in an honors class. But I'm too young to have had all the hard math you;ve been talking about. But, here's a problem for you.
Every month, a girl gets allowance. Assume last year she had no money, and kept it up to now. Then she spends 1/2 of her money on clothes, then 1/3 of the remaining money on games, and then 1/4 of the remaining money on toys. After she bought all of that, she had $7777 left. Assuming she only gets money by allowance, how much money does she earn every month?
@Sky:
Alright, I don't particularly mind math, and I suppose I'm good at it as I am in an honors class. But I'm too young to have had all the hard math you;ve been talking about. But, here's a problem for you.
Every month, a girl gets allowance. Assume last year she had no money, and kept it up to now. Then she spends 1/2 of her money on clothes, then 1/3 of the remaining money on games, and then 1/4 of the remaining money on toys. After she bought all of that, she had $7777 left. Assuming she only gets money by allowance, how much money does she earn every month?
I know it! too much.
@Sky:
Alright, I don't particularly mind math, and I suppose I'm good at it as I am in an honors class. But I'm too young to have had all the hard math you;ve been talking about. But, here's a problem for you.
Every month, a girl gets allowance. Assume last year she had no money, and kept it up to now. Then she spends 1/2 of her money on clothes, then 1/3 of the remaining money on games, and then 1/4 of the remaining money on toys. After she bought all of that, she had $7777 left. Assuming she only gets money by allowance, how much money does she earn every month?
15554$ ?
I'm a bit confused about the "had no money last year and kept it up to now" part: Did she start with $0.00 and save every month for twelve months? Or, did she keep $0.00 until this month and only spend out of this month's allowance?
Damn couldn't be that simple could it
EDIT: got my error hah silly bart, is it: 2592$ ?
I'm gonna feel silly if this turns out to be wrong to
@_Meh_:
I'm a bit confused about the "had no money last year and kept it up to now" part: Did she start with $0.00 and save every month for twelve months? Or, did she keep $0.00 until this month and only spend out of this month's allowance?
I think it means from the beginning of the year.
I edited with my corrected answer~
EDIT: Wait x/ X/ X[ is the answer 0? Since she earns nothing? because then I will be a sad bart
EDITEDIT: the ninja says it all… oh well at least I used some algebra for the first time in like a year
Actually no, she doesn't get 0. ^.^ Would you like me to tell you?
sure go ahead! (btw realized I forgot to divide by 12 so my final answer is 2592$ but I still think I'm not seeing something incredibly obvious)
The answer is…
! $2222!!!!!!!