All Questions
357
votes
25answers
24k views
Can I use my powers for good?
I hesitate to ask this question, but I read a lot of the career advice from mathOverflow and math.stackexchange, and I couldn't find anything similar.
Four years after the PhD, I am pretty sure that ...
269
votes
9answers
289k views
Is this Batman equation for real?
HardOCP has an image with an equation which apparently draws the Batman logo. Is this for real?
265
votes
6answers
60k views
Why can you turn clothing right-side-out?
My nephew was folding laundry, and turning the occasional shirt right-side-out. I showed him a "trick" where I turned it right-side-out by pulling the whole thing through a sleeve instead of the ...
259
votes
111answers
12k views
What was the first bit of mathematics that made you realize that math is beautiful? (For children's book)
I'm a children's book writer and illustrator, and I want to to create a book for young readers that exposes the beauty of Mathematics. I recently read Paul Lockhart's essay "The Mathematician's ...
224
votes
16answers
40k views
What are imaginary numbers?
At school I really struggled to understand the concept of imaginary numbers. My teacher told us that an imaginary number is a number which has something to do with the square root of -1. When I ...
222
votes
20answers
44k views
Mathematical difference between white and black notes in a piano
The division of the chromatic scale in 7 natural notes (white keys in a piano) and 5 accidental ones (black) seems a bit arbitrary to me.
Apparently, adjacent notes in a piano (including white or ...
198
votes
33answers
17k views
Do complex numbers really exist?
Complex numbers involve the square root of negative one, and most non-mathematicians find it hard to accept that such a number is meaningful. In contrast, they feel that real numbers have an obvious ...
182
votes
21answers
16k views
How to study math to really understand it and have a healthy lifestyle with free time?
Here's my problem. I'm studying math and when I really work hard, I think I understand things very good, but that comes at a big cost: in the last few years, I've had practically zero physical ...
171
votes
23answers
7k views
Examples of apparent patterns that eventually fail
Often, when I try to describe mathematics to the layman, I find myself struggling to convince them of the importance and consequence of 'proof'. I receive responses like: "surely if the Collatz ...
166
votes
8answers
14k views
Is $dy/dx$ not a ratio?
In the book Thomas's Calculus (11th edition) it is mentioned (Section 3.8 pg 225) that the derivative $dy/dx$ is not a ratio. Couldn't it be interpreted as a ratio, because according to the formula ...
161
votes
16answers
6k views
Optimizing response times of an ambulance corp: short-term versus average
Background: I work for an Ambulance service. We are one of the largest ambulance services in the world. We have a dispatch system that will always send the closest ambulance to any emergency call. ...
158
votes
23answers
10k views
Proofs that every mathematician should know? [closed]
There are mathematical proofs that have that "wow" factor in being elegant, simplifying one's view of mathematics, lifting one's perception into the light of knowledge etc.
So I'd like to know what ...
153
votes
4answers
8k views
The Mathematics of Tetris
I am a big fan of the oldschool games and I once noticed that there is a sort parity associated to one and only one Tetris piece, the $\color{purple}{\text{T}}$ piece. This parity is found with no ...
149
votes
5answers
27k views
In Russian roulette, is it best to go first?
Assume that we are playing a game of Russian roulette (6 chambers). Assume that there is no shuffling after the shot is fired.
I was wondering if you have an advantage in going first?
If so, how big ...
149
votes
10answers
10k views
Is '10' a magical number or I am missing something?
It's a hilarious witty joke that points out how every base is '10' in its base. Like,
2 = 10 (base 2)
8 = 10 (base 8)
My question is if whoever invented the ...
