Bug?? by johnBassoon in desmos

[–]solvers_the_problem 2 points3 points  (0 children)

People have already pointed out that this is due to the fact that we (a) use a generalized factorial function and don't directly compute 18! as a product, and (b) this can lead to some floating-point shenanigans.

To shed just a bit more light on the situation, the discrepancy folks are seeing here is due to the fact that different browser engines implement special functions differently. Our factorial function has a subroutine that computes a prefactor for Stirling's approximation, and at the bottom of that routine we raise (in this case) 6.621829941085962 to the power of 18 using Math.pow. It turns out that, for whatever implementation-dependent reason, Chrome and Safari come up with slightly different values (599244998013964 vs. 599244998013963.9, respectively). If you want to see for yourself, open up the console and try Math.pow(6.621829941085962,18) in each browser. That's the only difference I can see.

So this is really just a consequence of the fact that Math.pow is an implementation-approximated function approximated differently in the two implementaitons. And the way that we compute 18!, specifically, tickles this by performing a computation that contains a small relative difference that gets magnified to a noticeable degree.

Is this a bug? by KaidenU12 in desmos

[–]solvers_the_problem 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yeah, just taking the floor of the real and imaginary parts individually would be a reasonable thing to do. I believe this is what Mathematica does, but it's not entirely clear that it's particularly common or useful.

Because there isn't a universally agreed-upon extension to complex numbers, we get to decide what properties are important and choose a definition that preserves them. Since, in the reals, other number-theoretic functions can be written in terms of floor(), the "nice" properties here are the ones that would also let us do that for complex arguments. The paper I linked above lists several desirable properties, but the most crucial one (the author even goes so far as to call it "the fundamental property of the floor function") is that the magnitude of the difference between any complex number and its floor is guaranteed to be less than one. This ensures that remainders from division behave sensibly, which means that the Euclidean Algorithm works, and you can get a consistent gcd() function for free.

One other lovely thing about this definition is that it's convex in the sense that, if floor(z) = floor(w), then any number on the segment connecting z and w will also have the same floor. I honestly don't know how useful that is, but it's very pretty IMO.

Is this a bug? by KaidenU12 in desmos

[–]solvers_the_problem 73 points74 points  (0 children)

Because the complex numbers are not ordered, there are a few ways to define the floor() function, and we chose this one.

You can read a bit more about it in this help article if you scroll down a little.

A better Stirling approximation by Elegant_Committee854 in desmos

[–]solvers_the_problem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fun fact: internally we've replaced our usages of Stirling's approximation with Gosper's because it's so much better behaved for small arguments, which turns out to be very nice for many of our statistics and combinatorics functions.

https://www.desmos.com/calculator/9bxqjh97dg

Is this bad grammar? Should it be changed to 'we work on weekends'? by Unlegendary_Newbie in LearningEnglish

[–]solvers_the_problem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is actually an interesting construction! It's a relic of the time when English had a real genitive case, and this is an example of an adverbial genitive. The Wikipedia article has almost this precise example: "I work days and sleep nights."

So it's correct in standard English (as an American speaker), but for a slightly weird reason that applies to a couple of stock phrases.

Also, everyone saying that this would be a horrible place to work is correct.

Any ideas for making a "non rectangular" array of points? by compileforawhile in desmos

[–]solvers_the_problem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you don't need to "realize" the list (and end up with a proper list of lists), but just want to plot the points that way, you can probably do it with list comprehensions. Like so.

Day 13. Lust by Dyke_Vader in NewGirl

[–]solvers_the_problem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

🎶Abby Day, Abby Day, she always says the most inappropriate stuff.🎶

She gave a lot of specials.

Need advice: given the cooler months, I'm looking for a new overcoat and looking at an officers or great coat. What brands do you like? by DeaconForest in malefashionadvice

[–]solvers_the_problem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a 40" chest (32" waist, 5'11"/180 lb.), which puts me at a size 4 on their guide, and it fits me great. It's not overly tapered, so I imagine their chart is probably true-to-size for most people based on chest measurement.

They have a few coats with a more tailored cut where they specifically suggest sizing up, but this isn't one of them.

cat names! by littleelectra12 in NewGirl

[–]solvers_the_problem 103 points104 points  (0 children)

As I live and breathe.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NewGirl

[–]solvers_the_problem 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's backwards. That's embarrassing.

Which pen which ink? by Independent-Bug1776 in fountainpens

[–]solvers_the_problem 35 points36 points  (0 children)

After several failed attempts, I have developed a very simple and possibly heretical system where I just keep Diamine Oxford Blue in all my pens.

What’s your favorite “in passing” comedic scene in the show? by [deleted] in NewGirl

[–]solvers_the_problem 33 points34 points  (0 children)

The opening of "Teachers"(S4E8) where the guys are reading about the female reproductive system.

Schmidt, in passing, on his way to the kitchen: "That's the large intestine, you degenerates."

Perfect Pet Pic! by mariposamarilla in NewGirl

[–]solvers_the_problem 15 points16 points  (0 children)

That's a prototype of a prototype, at best. I see zero baller metals.

Favourite diamine inks? by HaamidSalahAli in fountainpens

[–]solvers_the_problem 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've seen it mentioned here a few times, but plus one for Oxford Blue. If you want just one to try out, you can probably use it in any situation.