|
Author
|
Topic: More philosophical meanderings
|
katka
|
posted February 13, 2002 06:30 PM
   
I have no idea what y'all are talking about. Of course I really (I mean really) suck at math. I also hate it. Oh well carry on.
IP: Logged |
Cromkayer
|
posted February 13, 2002 07:24 PM
Another thought by me:Math is a useful tool. However, I came up with a way to describe its limitations. Math is digital, but the world is analog. That's why it can't accurately describe the world.
IP: Logged |
flynman
|
posted February 13, 2002 07:37 PM
Crude, but accurate. The world is not really "analog" so to speak, but it is nonlinear. It remains to be seen whether the world is analog or digital. If molecules really do have an indivisible particle, then the world is digital and linear numbers can completly describe the world. If the world is based on quantum probabilities, then linear numbers cannot describe the world.
IP: Logged |
Paralistalon
|
posted February 13, 2002 08:19 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Shadow:
How exactly does multiplying two negatives equal a positive?
Haven't you ever asked your mom, "Can I NOT go to the store?" She replies, "No," and you say, "Thanks mom so when are we going?" Get it? I do not have no five dollars= I have five dollars. If the multiplication isn't evident in that example, then let's look at another one. Remember that if you owe someone money, then you have a negative amount of dollars. I owe you five dollars, ten times. (I owe you five dollars for each time I say a bad word...or something like that. -5*10= -50 I owe you 50 dollars) Now, I owe you five dollars, negative 5 times. (you owe me five dollars for each time I hold the door open for a woman. -5*-5= +25 You owe me 25 dollars) True, math is only perfect in a theoretical world. Math is an approximation when applied to the real world around us, but does that mean that we can do any better? Math gives us data hundereds of times more precise and accurate than a ruler. Besides, there are what are known as "significant figures" which scientists use. This takes into account that every number is an approximation. The number 1.78 would mean the amount falls between 1.77 and 1.79. In calculations, there are rules as to how many significant figures the answer will have. For instance, (7.8)*(4.5682)= a number with two significant figures. This all makes perfect sense when you consider taking measurements on a ruler. Thus, in science, all numbers are approximations. The degree of accuracy varries.
IP: Logged |
StarmanBeta
|
posted February 13, 2002 10:17 PM
The only problem with your example is that it is an example of how English works like math, not an example of how math is intuitive. In many languages, a double negative is still negative.
IP: Logged |
Paralistalon
|
posted February 13, 2002 10:58 PM
Okay, then how about-
The negative sign means "opposite." When you take the opposite of something twice, you end up with the same thing. It would go: big-> small-> big again.
IP: Logged |
SpazzMan
|
posted February 14, 2002 02:35 PM
The world is thrice differentiable at an infinite number of points.
IP: Logged | |
Starmen.Net Message Forum
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone! 
