Mathematics

Asaf Karagila

11:00 AM

Now when you say tongue...

Brian M. Scott

@JM Fortunately, there aren’t many lampposts ...

robjohn

@BrianMScott I thought we used assumptions. We get to make them, too? neat :-)

Brian M. Scott

Not just neat, but tidy and efficient!

J. M.

@BrianMScott Oh, it's not a literal pole? :D

Rahul Narain

@BrianMScott I thought that was the physicists. Consider a spherical boat in a frictionless river...

Brian M. Scott

11:01 AM

@JM No, the barber’s in Seville, not the Arctic.

@RahulNarain Jearl Walker prefers frictionless penguins on frictionless ice.

Jonas Teuwen

@JM Frostbite in your tongue? Awww.

J. M.

Man, I love Jearl Walker's stuff...

Speaking of spherical things, this was entertaining...

Brian M. Scott

Some of his students got a little tired of the penguins, though. (Actually, he has a very good reputation as a teacher.)

Dan Brumleve

Actually it's the wind that's important, not the friction.

J. M.

Also, assuming laminar flow makes things easier...

Dan Brumleve

11:07 AM

i feel unwelcome on physics.SE since i started philosophizing there

also i feel like some of my questions were underappreciated

it's been a year maybe time to try again

Rahul Narain

@Dan They have a nice new design, at least.

Brian M. Scott

@RahulNarain Only at the elementary level. It’s the economists who are most guilty.

J. M.

@RahulNarain Yeah, after they went chalkboard for some time..

Dan Brumleve

no question count on main page, i can't tell how well the site has been growing

Jonas Teuwen

@JM Would hypergeometric functions also give the roots of polynomials? The other guy in my new desk has a PhD in special functions and he suggested me to look there 8-).

J. M.

11:13 AM

@JonasTeuwen That is the other route, if you don't want theta functions. However, those can get complicated too...

Skullpatrol

@BrianMScott Your solution assumes v<< c ;-)

J. M.

I've only read a passing reference that one could use Kampe de Feriet functions, but I have yet to see an explicit construction...

Brian M. Scott

@Skullpatrol True. Seems pretty likely, though. :-) Or should I say relatively likely?

Skullpatrol

@BrianMScott In a special kind of way :-)

Jonas Teuwen

@JM There are three special functions guys here on this floor and they all don't have a reference for me!

Rahul Narain

11:15 AM

@Skullpatrol If v is not much less than c, you have to worry about which reference frame the boat trip took 2 hours in...

Brian M. Scott

And don’t forget the psychological factor: the elapsed time is different for the rower and the passenger!

Grf. I’m starting to yawn, and it is 0615; I should probably head for bed.

Skullpatrol

@BrianMScott If you throw the problem into a black hole you'll never find an answer.

Dan Brumleve

@rahul haha needs a gamma factor

Brian M. Scott

Is that true? Or will I simply never return with an answer?

Dan Brumleve

also the possibility of tunneling

J. M.

11:18 AM

@BrianMScott Good morning, then... :)

The day a boat tunnels...

Rahul Narain

If the boat is disassembled and reassembled Ship-of-Theseus-style after travelling 20 miles downstream in 2 hours, is it still the same boat that takes 6 hours to travel 12 miles upstream?

Brian M. Scott

@JM One of the small joys of retirement is being able to keep a schedule (or lack thereof) that’s actually comfortable.

@JM You’ve never heard of an ATB (all-terrain boat)?

J. M.

@BrianMScott Yeah, but I was thinking of quantum tunneling (which I believe Dan was alluding to). Makes for interesting electronics...

Brian M. Scott

I expect that he was, yes.

Dan Brumleve

indeed

there is a positive probability that the boat never left

Brian M. Scott

11:22 AM

Like British Rail trains.

J. M.

BUUURN. :D

Skullpatrol

Is there a Schrodinger cat on the boat?

Brian M. Scott

You’ll have to look and see.

Skullpatrol

I can't see inside of a black hole.

Brian M. Scott

But can you see out?

Skullpatrol

11:25 AM

Maybe we are in a black hole right now.

that is inside of another black hole .... etc etc etc

Dan Brumleve

maybe you are in a tree.

Brian M. Scott

I’m going to call it a night. See you folks later!

J. M.

@BrianMScott See you later!

Dan Brumleve

l8s

me too

math out

Skullpatrol

Peace

Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the establishment of equality, and a working political order that serves the true interests of all. In international relations, peacetime is not only the absence of war or conflict, but also the presence of cultural and economic understanding . Etymology From the Latin pax, meaning "freedom from civil...

Il y a

11:30 AM

@Jonas: hell! you just arranged a lamp there )) and what about Igor?

Asaf Karagila

@Ilya Jonas ate Igor. He's actually a cannibalistic serial killer.

Il y a

Your mother?

Asaf Karagila

No, not her.

Il y a

fuh. that's good. I will have a lunch in peace then

Asaf Karagila

Are you also having some Igor?

Il y a

11:33 AM

I have diet restrictions: I can only eat what they serve on the lunch in the cafe. If it is Igor, I have no other choice.

nice justification for cannibalism, isn't it?

J. M.

I think that's the same reasoning with the Donner party...

Asaf Karagila

@Ilya Not really.

Skullpatrol

@Ilya Talking about cannibalism really eats me up.

Matt N.

@BrianMScott Good night.

Jonas Teuwen

11:49 AM

@Ilya Igor is still there but he's not here now I think. I'll check.

@Ilya Nope.

Eating Igor? He's 39 I believe. Must be tough meat.

Skullpatrol

12:07 PM

@JonasTeuwen With Bill being stripped of all his reputation points and QED deleting his account we need a little peace, love, unity, and respect around here. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLUR

Especially the respect.

Il y a

12:49 PM

@Skullpatrol what about Bill and QED?

Jonas Teuwen

@JM I have the Tata Lectures on Theta II!

Il y a

@JonasTeuwen I think I should have been better prepared - my monologue was quite messy I guess

Jonas Teuwen

No, it was fine.

J. M.

1:11 PM