Geek and Nerd Humor

@argome321,

argome321 wrote:

Quote:
I came up with the same answer as argorne by a different path -- if you just go term-by-term they cancel each other out, leaving you with a goose egg.

That is what I've been trying to demonstrate to Frank It's basic ninth grade algebra.

In high school, I was a business major...not college prep. I was so bad at math I decided not to take any math courses...and managed to get away with it.

But after service, I got a free ride to college with the GI bill (too good to pass up)...and regretted not having the advanced math. Managed to get an exemption...and got all through undergrad...and grad without ever taking even algebra.

My majors in undergrad were economics and philosophy...and economics required lots of statistics and probability. I had to do all the work longhand...rather than by formulas. Then in grad school, I switched to phych...and had to do even more complicated statistics and probability...which I also did longhand.

It was hard...but I got good marks.

1 Reply

@izzythepush,

[

Quote:

b]When you use brackets the answer is zero. Why are you insisting that only the penultimate 60 is multiplied by zero and not everything that proceeded it? If there are brackets I agree, but there aren't. So I'm with Frank on this.[/b]

It doesn't matter if there are brackets or not, it is basic algebra.

Just dealing solely with math, you are dealing with abstract concepts.
you can express any number in infinte ways infinitely. E.G. the number nine can be expressed 4+5, 9+0, 1+8, 3x3, 3+ 3+ etc.
So. 0+50x1-60-60x0+10=Y

50x1 is just another way of expressing the number 50 so it is easier to see in the equation if you bracket it. That's all the brackets are for in this instance.
so without the brackets, simplifying the equation, it would read
0+50-60-0+10=Y
You can first cancelled out the zeros leaving 50-60-+10=Y
next you have -10+10=Y
-10 cancels +10 leaving y to = 0
well that is the best I can do
So if you believe frank is correct , and there is nothing wrong with that, I hvae no problem with that. I can only explain how I arrived at what I arrived at LOL Smile

3 Replies

@argome321,

Quote:

So if you believe frank is correct , and there is nothing wrong with that, I hvae no problem with that. I can only explain how I arrived at what I arrived at LOL Smile

Argome...Frank (meaning moi) HAS TO BE CORRECT...because I've said that I suck at math...and I do not really know the answer.

I also conceded that since everybody seems to be coming up with zero...that must be the answer...

...although I suck at math so much, I had some trouble understanding the math.

It seems to be sinking in, though.

Ahhh...did I mention that I suck at math?

1 Reply

@Frank Apisa,

In high school, I was a business major...not college prep. I was so bad at math I decided not to take any math courses...and managed to get away with it.

Quote:

But after service, I got a free ride to college with the GI bill (too good to pass up)...and regretted not having the advanced math. Managed to get an exemption...and got all through undergrad...and grad without ever taking even algebra.

My majors in undergrad were economics and philosophy...and economics required lots of statistics and probability. I had to do all the work longhand...rather than by formulas. Then in grad school, I switched to phych...and had to do even more complicated statistics and probability...which I also did longhand.

It was hard...but I got good marks.

My comment was not a slight in any way or manner to you Frank or anyone.
Algebra was 9th grade math, Euclid ( Plane) geometry was 10th grade math and trig was 11th grade math when I went to school.

In my brief tenure in college I was Social Science major, LOL, so I was only required to take a course entitled finite math.

When I dropped out of college I took a technical course in computer repair and needed to take a few math courses. Those classes were mostly concerned with the binary system.

0 Replies

A friend of mine (who also came up with zero) just told me that the problem I am having is that I am thinking of the problem in a linear way (as a non-mathematician might)…reading from left to right. But apparently that is not the way math works.

He’ll explain it more carefully at some point…but I am conceding that I am wrong with my 10.

That incorrect 10 probably has something to do with the fact that I suck at math.

0 Replies

@argome321,

http://40.media.tumblr.com/0238ae2049bdc7002dc24d6d5234923d/tumblr_nkupg77tRd1ra7rzwo1_1280.jpg

0 Replies

@Frank Apisa,

Quote:

Argome...Frank (meaning moi) HAS TO BE CORRECT...because I've said that I suck at math...and I do not really know the answer.

I also conceded that since everybody seems to be coming up with zero...that must be the answer...

...although I suck at math so much, I had some trouble understanding the math.

It seems to be sinking in, though.

Ahhh...did I mention that I suck at math?

I don't know if it is true or not but I heard that Einstein was not a great. mathematician. If that is true you are in good company.

1 Reply

@argome321,

This is me talking to him about that. He told me he also sucked at math.

1 Reply

@Frank Apisa,

Why do you think there was a picture of him attached to that math problem?

Obviously it was because he didn't know the answer and was asking for our help.

0 Replies

Several scientists were all posed the following question: "What is 2 * 2 ?"
The engineer whips out his slide rule (so it's old) and shuffles it back and forth, and finally announces "3.99".
The physicist consults his technical references, sets up the problem on his computer, and announces "it lies between 3.98 and 4.02".
The mathematician cogitates for a while, then announces: "I don't know what the answer is, but I can tell you, an answer exists!".
Philosopher smiles: "But what do you mean by 2 * 2 ?"
Logician replies: "Please define 2 * 2 more precisely."
The sociologist: "I don't know, but is was nice talking about it".
Behavioral Ecologist: "A polygamous mating system".
Medical Student : "4" All others looking astonished : "How did you know ??" Medical Student : I memorized it."

1 Reply

An engineer, a physicist and a mathematician are staying in a hotel.
The engineer wakes up and smells smoke. He goes out into the hallway and sees a fire, so he fills a trash can from his room with water and douses the fire. He goes back to bed.
Later, the physicist wakes up and smells smoke. He opens his door and sees a fire in the hallway. He walks down the hall to a fire hose and after calculating the flame velocity, distance, water pressure, trajectory, etc. extinguishes the fire with the minimum amount of water and energy needed.
Later, the mathematician wakes up and smells smoke. He goes to the hall, sees the fire and then the fire hose. He thinks for a moment and then exclaims, "Ah, a solution exists!" and then goes back to bed.

0 Replies

@argome321,

It does make a difference. We can agree on the first part of the sum 0+50x1 -60 = -10. If you add brackets (-60 x0) you're adding zero to -10 which leaves you with -10, then adding 10 leaves you with zero. If however you leave the brackets out and add -60 to -10 that gives you -70. If you multiply -70 by zero you get zero, then if you add 10 you get 10. So why, in the absence of brackets, are you insisting that the zero only multiplies the 60 and not everything else that proceeds it?

Why are you saying it's (0+50x1) (-60) (-60x0) +10 which does equal zero, and not (0+50x1 -60 -60) x0 +10 which equals 10. There are no brackets in the original so I agree with Frank that the final calculation is (-70 x0) =0 + 10 =10, not -10 +( -60x0)=0 + 10 = 0

2 Replies

@izzythepush,

Sorry but you are forgetting the proper order of operations.

Wiki wrote:

The order of operations used throughout mathematics, science, technology and many computer programming languages is expressed here:[2]
exponents and roots
multiplication and division
addition and subtraction
This means that if a mathematical expression is preceded by one binary operator and followed by another, the operator higher on the list should be applied first. The commutative and associative laws of addition and multiplication allow terms to be added in any order and factors to be multiplied in any order, but mixed operations must obey the standard order of operations.

According to the above, you have to multiply 50x1 and 60x0 first and then do the other operations.

Accordingly, the result is zero, not +10.

0 Replies

@izzythepush,

Quote:

Why are you saying it's (0+50x1) (-60) (-60x0) +10 which does equal zero, and not (0+50x1 -60 -60) x0 +10 which equals 10. There are no brackets in the original so I agree with Frank that the final calculation is (-70 x0) =0 + 10 =10, not -10 +( -60x0)=0 + 10 = 0

you bracketing is incorrect

it is not zero times 0+50x1-60-60)x0 +10

if you did it this way you would be multiplying everything in the Bracket.
if you think frank is correct read the entire last pages of the post post read what franks says.
If you agree with the first part then what is -10 and a +10=?

1 Reply

Zero does seem to be the correct answer.

Took a long time to find this...but the search was fun.

http://investmentperformanceguy.blogspot.com/2013/02/unless-you-know-rules-how-can-you-get.html

1 Reply

@vonny,

Quote:

everal scientists were all posed the following question: "What is 2 * 2 ?"
The engineer whips out his slide rule (so it's old) and shuffles it back and forth, and finally announces "3.99".
The physicist consults his technical references, sets up the problem on his computer, and announces "it lies between 3.98 and 4.02".
The mathematician cogitates for a while, then announces: "I don't know what the answer is, but I can tell you, an answer exists!".
Philosopher smiles: "But what do you mean by 2 * 2 ?"
Logician replies: "Please define 2 * 2 more precisely."
The sociologist: "I don't know, but is was nice talking about it".
Behavioral Ecologist: "A polygamous mating system".
Medical Student : "4" All others looking astonished : "How did you know ??" Medical Student : I memorized it."

none of these example have any pragmatic value. I bet if you took a job for 100 dollars and when you finished doing the job you would be pretty upset if some one gave you a ten dollar bill and told you there was no difference.

1 Reply

@argome321,

You do know we are writing on a humor thread, don't you?

1 Reply

A mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer are all given identical rubber balls and told to find the volume. They are given anything they want to measure it, and have all the time they need. The mathematician pulls out a measuring tape and records the circumference. He then divides by two times pi to get the radius, cubes that, multiplies by pi again, and then multiplies by four-thirds and thereby calculates the volume. The physicist gets a bucket of water, places 1.00000 gallons of water in the bucket, drops in the ball, and measures the displacement to six significant figures. And the engineer? He writes down the serial number of the ball, and looks it up.

0 Replies

@Frank Apisa,

Quote:

Zero does seem to be the correct answer.

Took a long time to find this...but the search was fun.

You were correct about how it isn't best going from left to right
I read the site you posted

0 Replies

@timur,

well aware Very Happy

1 Reply

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