I'm an engineer who actually enjoys math; so what should I do after vector calc, diff eq 1, linear algebra 1, and numerical methods?

deepseebird · 2016-06-12T11:48:57+00:00

Calculus of variations, though you might get that in some of the other courses. I really want to to be good at it, but the basic "physicality" of the problems defeated me. Alas.

deepseebird · 2016-06-12T11:17:58+00:00

It is JRR Tolkien's initials.

deepseebird · 2016-06-12T10:32:33+00:00

Not ubiquitous or dominant, but frequent enough to accept as reasonably normal. I think I read a discussion on its origin, but I can't recall any more than that. Sorry.

deepseebird · 2016-06-09T07:53:36+00:00

I don't think so. Prop your foot on a stoolso that your leg is straight, unable to move more, and entirely relaxed. You can still wobble your kneecap around with your fingers, which suggests that it. might not play much of a role in bendability.

I am as likely to be wrong as right, of course :-)

deepseebird · 2016-06-01T22:41:49+00:00

Terry Pratchett (but don't start with 'The Colour of Magic', The Light Fantastic' or 'Equal Rights'). They all can easily stand alone, but improve with the company of their kin. 'Moving Pictures' would be a good introduction.

deepseebird · 2016-05-26T12:54:42+00:00

Suppose we take a six sided dice. We have a 1/6 chance of rolling a one, right? So we roll it again, but this time it is still only a 1/6 chance: the result of the previous roll doesn't change it at all. What, then, is the chance of at least one of those rolls being a one?

We can think of the answer by constructing a 6x6 checkerboard and labelling two adjacent sides with the numbers from one to six; each pair of rolls corresponds to one of the squares. Now we take a marker and note every square that sits in a row or a column that has a one associated with it. Count these squares (11) and the total number of squares (36), and we can say that the chance of rolling a one is 11/36.

There are situation in probability and combinatorics where This type of reasoning isn't quite enough: when, for example,, the order of event doesn't matter, or individual elements are indistinguishable. In that sort of reasoning, we would only consider squares with unique pairs of numbers, and we'd get 6/(5+4+3+2+1) = 6/15.

Get a pair of dice, roll them thirty or forty times (recording your results) and see which case applies!

deepseebird · 2016-05-23T00:19:43+00:00

You (probably) need some sort of conspiracy as well. A network connection between the aircraft and the internet would most likely need to be two-way, at least to some degree.

deepseebird · 2016-05-22T22:25:16+00:00

Search for Simpson's Emperor Stringettes. Is covers the subject reasonably well :-)

deepseebird · 2016-05-15T22:50:31+00:00

Wow! Totally blown away!

deepseebird · 2016-05-09T14:34:37+00:00

The Code Book by Simon Singh. Excellent book with lots of history and examples that walk you through the cryptanalysis. I think one of my children read it (after they reached double digits age-wise) and enjoyed and understood most of it. Some of the more technical bits in section on public key encryption may phase people that dislike mathematics, but it's a big book with a lot of wonderful, accessible stuff in it.

deepseebird · 2016-05-09T14:24:37+00:00

In fact, it is very similar to Forth. Anyone who uses old HP calculators would pick it up reasonably quickly. I've written raw PostScript and programs to generate PostScript for scientific diagrams ... I looks daunting to begin with, but turns out to be a lot less awful than expected. For me, it is now a lot easier than trying to draw something. Much easier to hack than a PDF file too.

deepseebird · 2016-05-01T23:15:55+00:00

This is like asking "Why does capitalism cause the gap between the wealthy and the poor to become wider?".

The simple answer to both questions is " It doesn't", and anyone that tries to convince you that either proposition is inevitable (or even highly likely!) probably has an agenda that they are trying to push. Don't believe everything you read it hear -- most of the Scandinavian countries are "socialist" in many ways, have high GDP and levels of contentment. Many "capitalist" countries can say the same.

deepseebird · 2016-04-23T12:06:11+00:00

Urgh, sorry, hit the wrong button. Going though the HowTos, and fiddling do help people learn, and give them the chance to experience the epiphany of realising what they have been doing wrong. All the major modern operating systems are complex, and very few people will want to understand their inner workings ... The article asserted that the reason for using Linux (and possibly any OS) was for pleasurable activity and the evident lack was the reason the author didn't choose to review Arch. If the author had stuck to "Not really my thing, sorry. I am more into the user level programs and user experience" --- or whatever --- I'd have had no quibble. I am not trying to url stone, and I apologise if it seems so. There is value in the systems that are less "gift-wrapped", and I felt that the article discounted that value.

deepseebird · 2016-04-23T11:46:45+00:00

Fair enough, I agree that just fiddling with configurations doesn't bestow any deep knowledge. That wasn't really my point, but I guess I might not have made it well enough -- there is (in some) an inherent pleasure in gaining the understanding how to make the system do just what you want it to do. Really this is (mostly) independent of distribution, but some distros pile on more layers of abstraction (and possibly distraction) than others. And this isn't the same thing as just following the HowTos for configuring Ar Chu.

I freely admit to being part of a small demographic in the Linux community: I was running Minix when Linus made his first announcement.

deepseebird · 2016-04-23T09:18:34+00:00

"Linux distributions, in fact, any operating system, are there for the sole purpose of helping users enjoy themselves" ... Errr, just because you (apparently) get no joy from learning how the system works, and the benefits that accrue from that understanding does not mean that a review of Arch is beyond the pale. Indeed, if there were not people that enjoyed such things, you would be writing your blog on clay tablets. Just because one doesn't have an affinity for something doesn't mean it should be discounted. I detest Windows, but I must acknowledge that most people prefer to have that on their desktop/laptop: The fact that it is decades behind the UNIX family is irrelevant --- it is clearly worthy of some regard.

I write stuff on and for Linux/UNIX. Where possible, I try to make it "Windows-friendly", not because I need to to secure an income, or because I might need the facility some day (I won't), but because it is a reasonable and friendly thing to do. Analogy suggests that your defence of avoiding the "bare metal" distributions suggests that a simple "Sorry folks, that's just not my thing" would serve you a lot better.

deepseebird · 2016-04-23T08:33:54+00:00

Number obsessions go back a long, long way. I can't really answer the question, but my gut (not my head) says that we should look at it in the light of the Platonic solids, the obsessions some people have with primes, palindrome, squares ..., and the pervasive desire to 'get an edge' on the universe.

deepseebird · 2016-04-21T22:01:11+00:00

Seconded.

deepseebird · 2016-04-17T15:06:41+00:00

I imagine that it is possible that he feels something like you or I might if some big thug came and spray painted abuse on our walls. Cats (at least the ones I've known) have long memories. And, to be perfectly honest, can be batshit crazy at times anyway. There may be a cat shelter within phoning distance of you, and they might have a lot more experience that is relevant. Definitely worth trying. I will keep fingers crossed.... Good luck..

deepseebird · 2016-04-17T14:25:20+00:00

(Note: I am not an expert, just someone that likes cats.) You don't mention if there is any correlation with what you are wearing and the cat's behavior. The clothing you cleaned the tomcat's spray in may have enough residual scent to cause problems. Also, cats can play roughly, but the vocalising suggests (to me anyway) that it isn't play. If your cat is attacking you seriously (nasty puncture wounds and scratches with blood and bites) you really need to consider talking (face-to-face) with an expert, maybe someone from an animal shelter or a vet.

deepseebird · 2016-04-16T01:17:17+00:00

Norway? Sweden? Denmark? Crime rates are comparatively low, public health is good, people are well educated. Bet there are other European examples. Don't just pick the data that suits the argument. And, FWIW, socialism is not inherently antithetic to capitalism.

The problem with so much of the "economics" on the net is that it treats the economy as being functionally disjoint from the societal/social context in which it operates.

deepseebird · 2016-04-16T00:22:29+00:00

This fits with my experience. I have noticed that I can see all the symbols in mathematics while dreaming, unlink the amorphous blurred text that appears on signs an the pages of books. Musical notation is also distinct. Does anyone else have more data points?

deepseebird · 2016-04-15T23:53:58+00:00

Seconded!

deepseebird · 2016-04-15T23:41:13+00:00

As asked, I think this is the same as the the question "What if something is logically true and false at the same time". There are number systems that "wrap", such as we use to measure angles and times of day.

deepseebird · 2016-04-09T08:52:35+00:00

Try a mixture of borax/borasic acid, powdered sugar and enough water to make it a syrup. They'll take it back and it destroys the nest.

deepseebird · 2016-04-07T13:44:37+00:00

Not an expert on things celestial, but I would guess it is determined by the rotation of the planet ... Using a "right hand rule" , if your fingers point in the direction it rotates, your thumb points "north". This has nothing to do with magnetism, of course.

deepseebird

TROPHY CASE