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Topic: Favorite SciFi Quote (Read 16433 times)
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Lucky
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On the subjects of absolutes: I will agree Math usually uses absolutes.
If they are used at all they must exist in the first place to be used.
Unless we are making a faulty assumprion. We might think they are absolutes, and they might even act like absolutes so far, but that doesn't mean they necessarily are.
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Death 999
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We did. You did. Yes we can. No.
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Imaginary numbers aren't fuzzy at all.
Statistics? Bayesian Inference? Now that's fuzzy.
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Deus Siddis
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And you can't divide by zero. (You don't even get lazy eight, some say.)
"Not Defined" does not make a very good argument, in my opinion. It sounds a little like the "God works in mysterious ways" cop-out.
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« Last Edit: November 03, 2005, 12:18:24 am by Deus_Siddis »
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Death 999
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We did. You did. Yes we can. No.
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Zeep, considering how useful imaginary numbers are, I'd hesitate to criticise.
On the absolutely most practical level, imaginary numbers are no less real than irrational numbers -- if you draw a right triangle, there's no way it came out exact down to even the 100th decimal point (that would be smaller than the planck length), let alone all the rest of the way.
So, irrational numbers are a place marker which allow arbitrary precision. Imaginary numbers are a place marker which allow freer thinking about functions: First, you can express ANY polynomial in terms of its solutions; second, many integrals can only be calculated through 'analytic continuation', in which we devise a complex function which has the same values on the real axis as the real function did, and then integrate that.
Aside from that, imaginary numbers are mainly used as a compact way of representing a two-dimensional vector space in which rotations about the origin are of prime importance. There are many such spaces in physics and engineering.
As for 'undefined' when speaking of zero, well, take 1/0. Is it infinity (as we get approaching from above)? or... negative infinity (as we get approaching from below)? On a more pragmatic level, division by zero typically indicates the question is wrong.
"how many boxes of apples would be needed to store 100 apples if you can put zero apples in each box?"
*smack* "Shut up!"
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Deus Siddis
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"Is it infinity (as we get approaching from above)? or... negative infinity (as we get approaching from below)?"
Dunno, let's just give it a cool little symbol and base theories on it that predict extra dimensions.
By the way, how do you type the damn infinity symbol on a keyboard?
☺☻♥♦♣♠•◘○♀♂▬!♪§"-,▐M╝+Ü○xτ§╚{eƒ█ÄA▄◙▲(<∙»º§
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Deus Siddis
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"Easy: Buy a real computer"
Yea, but fake computers can run more than a couple programs.
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Lucky
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"Easy: Buy a real computer"
Yea, but fake computers can run more than a couple programs.
Ah, the age old dilemma of quantity versus quality.
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Deus Siddis
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Or the fourth option: Rock.
Rock is a 100% stable system when placed on a level surface.
Rock has a stellar 5 Billion year track record of reliable service.
Rock's fashionable, smooth and futuristic appearance will make you the talk of your tech circle.
And, if you don't like your Rock, you can beat us to death with it (for details, see fight club thread.)
SPECIAL OFFER: Buy your Rock in the next ten minutes and you could win a FREE Space Rock. Want to impress your Treky friends? Want to release a deadly plague of glowing crystal microbes that eat most anything, including pure energy and human flesh? Want to make superman blow lunch? Want to create a mass extiction? Space Rock brings you all this in one cosmos-styled, metal-stuffed package. Comes in three valuerific sizes -- Meteorite, Asteriod, and Kiss-Your-Sorry-Ass-Good-Bye!
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Pages: 1 2 [3] 4
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