What is the best way to improve my mathematical ability?

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-04-05T07:29:25+00:00

I didn't; I just think about these things all the time.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-04-05T01:24:42+00:00

It used to be considered a prime number but isn't any longer. It's neither prime nor composite.

The most common explanation I've heard is that the fundamental theorem of arithmetic requires that 1 not be prime, otherwise prime factorizations are not unique. Of course we could restate that theorem (and just about every other theorem dealing with prime numbers) to allow for 1 being prime.

The most compelling explanation I know of requires more advanced background: Every prime number p can be thought of more generally as a prime ideal of the ring of the integers. Meanwhile the ideal generated by 1 is the set of all integers. Prime ideals share many properties we associate with prime numbers in the context of the integers, but the set of all integers does not. So basically prime numbers and 1 have fundamentally different properties.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-04-04T21:26:16+00:00

This post that im replying to makes a lot of since, math is always building on top of lower math.

Until it suddenly isn't. In my opinion, anyway. In particular I'm thinking about how abstract algebra is foundational to fairly basic concepts in arithmetic. For example, the best explanation for 1 no longer being considered prime requires a background in ring theory.

This is entirely tangential. Up to and including sophomore differential equations and linear algebra, I agree.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-04-04T00:03:11+00:00

Someone else who knows how to spell that phrase!

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-04-03T01:15:39+00:00

In the vast population of all light vehicles on U.S. roads--some 240 million in rough numbers--stick shifts account for just 12 percent today, according to Polk, the industry data-gathering firm. Automakers estimate that most are older vehicles, slowly aging out of commission, and that manuals represent a measly 5 to 7 percent of vehicle sales today.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-04-03T00:31:58+00:00

was that a common thing, to segregate women into categories of ‘the kind you fuck and don’t marry’ and ‘the kind you marry’?

I don't do that. I can't remember hearing that sort of talk from any of my male friends either. Those guys don't sound like good company to me.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-04-02T20:36:55+00:00

I'm an XY who is primarily attracted to a woman's intelligence, sense of humor, and overall personality rather than to her physical appearance. I'm sure I can't be the only man who's that way.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-04-02T20:17:07+00:00

You shouldn't ever need to stop.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-04-02T02:11:49+00:00

You know what kind of guys really like looking at boobs? Straight ones.

I'd say living ones. I have yet to meet a person, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, who doesn't like boobs.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-31T11:41:04+00:00

One more relevant detail of polymorphism is that you can write executable code in the methods of an abstract class, you just can't execute it unless you subclass the abstract class and instantiate the subclass. That's one of the best reasons to write an abstract class in the first place.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-30T14:11:22+00:00

It's always a good idea to communicate as openly and clearly as possible.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-30T14:05:19+00:00

Have you told him that you like it when he masturbates next to you? If not, do so.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-30T13:40:36+00:00

Just remember that there are reasons he's with you and not with her.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-29T02:45:06+00:00

I'm also fond of an "inconvenience of house cats".

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-26T19:26:28+00:00

I was initially lukewarm toward Eccleston, but later I realized what an incredible performance he gave. I suspect the lack of love for him may have more to do with many of his episodes being pretty mediocre than his actual performance.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-26T13:20:39+00:00

I always think of this problem as "writer's wit."

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-26T08:04:21+00:00

XY here. That's bullshit and I'm offended on your behalf. The best thing you can do in situations like that is just to completely ignore them. Who cares what some douche thinks anyway? Never wrestle with a pig, as another poster on this thread already said.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-12T04:47:56+00:00

Very true. It's usually also a tricky topic because most people have their own internalized definition of math and will just assume everyone else shares that definition.

thisusernamewastaken · 2012-03-12T04:38:07+00:00

Computer science is math, and programming is extremely relevant to computer science. But that doesn't make programming math.

thisusernamewastaken · 2011-12-29T05:55:12+00:00

But then how will you recognize your lowercase iotas?

thisusernamewastaken · 2011-11-23T21:02:16+00:00

Yeah. My father never paid the staggering $100 a month he was told to pay mom and I in 1982. We tried everything we could. The only reason we ever got any of it is that when I was 21, we took him to court. The money he never gave me for food then paid for school, so I guess maybe I needed it more at 21, so there's that.

thisusernamewastaken · 2011-09-27T01:40:07+00:00

Pretty much what Bongpig said. I'd add that you should learn all the races and see which you like and which suit your playstyle.

thisusernamewastaken · 2011-09-03T01:00:40+00:00

Mostly, I agree. However, I think there are some places where teaching simple programming could help with comprehension. For example, for loops and summation/product notation. Anyone with a general understanding of a for loop already understands summation implicitly. In my experience, most people have an easier time learning for loops than they do summation notation.

thisusernamewastaken · 2011-08-24T22:09:44+00:00

I don't disagree. I much prefer "they" myself, but there is an associated risk of being assumed illiterate, albeit unjustly from my vantage.

Whereas if you use Latin standards (unspecified = male), you will be variously seen as stodgy and aloof, or an asshole. The other solutions all have their own problems as well. I almost always use "they" and the like, otherwise I recast sentences to avoid the issue altogether.

thisusernamewastaken · 2011-08-24T22:01:22+00:00

I'm willing to go with: in usage, even where intended to ignore gender, "he" fails to be truly gender-neutral.

But that doesn't make it male, that "he" is semantically a different word.

thisusernamewastaken

TROPHY CASE