Mathematics - 2011-11-14 (page 1 of 3)

robjohn

12:07 AM

@Henning: I have added a gruesome computation to that answer where I am still slightly confused.

Henning Makholm

I see the lurkers support you with upvotes. You must be right. :-)

Srivatsan

@robjohn, @Henning: I don't know if either of you answered the OP's concerns, but I upvoted both your answers they are both useful, in different ways.

Henning Makholm

I still think, however, that whatever the question the OP meant to be asking is probably not the one you're answering. It doesn't look as if he's looking for expectations or even probability distributions. Of course the authoritative green checkmark may eventually prove me wrong in this ...

One problem could be that neither I nor robjohn actually mention the Y_i random variables the OP speaks about.

QED

12:59 AM

hello

t.b.

1:22 AM

@Srivatsan Yes, as Martin said, "Erweitern eines Bruchs" = "expand a fraction" (opposite of cancel). Expand and extend are both good translations of the German meaning "make larger". weit = far/large

Srivatsan

1:41 AM

@tb Ok. Thanks...

robjohn

2:11 AM

@HenningMakholm I'm shooting in the dark there, just hoping something comes close :-)

t.b.

2:33 AM

Oh, boy. 2+3=5 ?

J. M.

2:55 AM

Congrats to @rob!

and @Jyrki too!

Srivatsan

3:11 AM

@tb math.stackexchange.com/questions/81863/…. Someone edited the correct spelling of the word "continuous" to "continous" =)

Bill the Lizard

If any moderators show up, I hope they'll weigh in on the following Meta post...

1

Q: Could I have avoided being suspended on the math stack for 7 days?

I have been a maths teacher. I have conducted a series of thought-experiments with kids and adults which has opened up a new direction in mathematics. It is often seen as "philosophy", and this was the response by the maths stack community, but I have little interest in playing word games. I the...

t.b.

@BilltheLizard the mods don't show up that frequently here. I've posted a comment on this meta thread. I suppose you have accees to this, this and this, as well as this (not deleted) which was closed before the fun started

Srivatsan

@tb Apparently, the typo was due to the OP and not the person who edited it last. The edit system is playing tricks on me... :/

I wish they clearly indicate which revision was edited to which revision. For e.g., revision 4: edited by gaurav from revision 1.

J. M.

3:39 AM

Huh. The questions were slightly off, but I don't think it warranted a suspension. What gives?

Srivatsan

Yes, the downvotes and quick closure were enough to send the message across, I guess.

J. M.

Precisely. The closures should have been quite sufficient. My take is that there should have been some courtesy to address his meta post at the very least, but do I see diamonds there? Noooo...

Srivatsan

Who authorises such suspensions? The mods?

J. M.

They're the only ones with the button...

Srivatsan

Mods are gods. :)

I came up with it just now, but I suppose it isn't original...

And is it possible to "contest" suspension, say, in meta?

J. M.

3:48 AM

Oh, way back there was an "elder go-I mean, elder mods" thing going about.

I'm not sure. Remember that there's a rep threshold for meta participation...

Srivatsan

Yes, but that's a little unfair.

J. M.

So he did the only logical thing to do and head off to meta.SO.

Srivatsan

Can we do so on his behalf?

J. M.

@Srivatsan Precisely. There should have been a mod commenting about this, but then...

There's the meta.SO thread about it, which reaches a wider audience/jury.

and t.b.'s already linked to it in the guy's meta thread.

Srivatsan

But as someone notes, they need m.se input as well.

In any case, let us wait and see what happens.

J. M.

3:51 AM

Agreed.

Bill the Lizard

@tb I don't have enough reputation on Math.SE to see the deleted posts, which is one of the reasons I asked for input here. Thanks for verifying for me that there is more to this than meets the casual (Meta.SO) eye, and for commenting on the Math meta post.

Srivatsan

@J.M. Can you tell me who deleted the posts? The OP or the mods?

J. M.

A mod deleted it. I don't want to say who did, since I'm hoping he'll step up himself.

t.b.

@Srivatsan: I cast a vote for deletion and a mod finished it off

Srivatsan

@JM Well, this detail is enough.

Thanks @tb and @J.M.

t.b.

3:58 AM

The suspension of 7 days may be somewhat harsh, IMO. On the other hand, I saw this as (at least) borderline spam.

J. M.

Well, the setup of us being his Guinea pigs was somewhat disconcerting, true.

Srivatsan

I was wondering if the OP realised that this is spam (or at least, off-topic in MSE) and hence deleted the posts. But this isn't the case.

J. M.

Okay, Robert's response to the meta.SO question has softened me a bit. I'd still have gone with an escalation of sorts, though...

t.b.

@JM The thing is, the first question was closed already. Then he fires off 3 (apparently 4, but I can't find that one) more questions in rapid succession. Each one with little to none mathematical content. I agree that there could have been a better messenger than "simplicity" to point out that already the first question was borderline off-topic.

J. M.

The problem on his end was that he posed his question tripartite, when it would have been better cast as a single thread.

Still, a mod telling him to slow down in comments should have been the first thing.

If he still posts drivel even after that mod comment, then I'm all for a suspension.

(and that "simplicity" guy ain't a peach, either.)

t.b.

4:07 AM

Well, as Robert points out, he could have looked how often that happens on the site and what people discuss here. He may also have been punished for the many many super-soft questions (lhf's meta thread) we had here recently. Yes, the communication could have been way better, and I'm waiting for a moderator to explain the rationale.

Srivatsan

4:19 AM

@tb This time, you ain't so lucky... =)

(look out for "funcions".)

@tb I am happy now. But why Narayanan? =)

t.b.

Did I misremember your last name?

Srivatsan

No no. I am just curious why you are bringing in my dad here... =)

(If you didn't get what I meant, "Narayanan" is my dad's first name, which adopted as my second name since we don't have one otherwise. =))

t.b.

@Srivatsan: Oh, sorry, I adopted western cultural norms and that's why I put a "Mr." With best regards to your dad, of course, too!

Srivatsan

4:34 AM

@tb No problems. I was just pulling your leg.

I am not offended, if you are concerned about that.

By the way, I liked your smiley =)

Rajesh D

@t.b. : hi, If you are somewhat free now, i have a question

J. M.

Ah yeah, you're a single-name sort of person, @Sri... :)

Rajesh D

hi J.M. and Sri

Srivatsan

@JM Well actually, I was always a bit envious of my dad's name (and his signature). Gives me an excuse to attach it to my name... =)

That was because my name was subjected to all sorts of violence, from "srivatison" (and "srivitasan") to "sreenivasan".

J. M.

Isn't there a "son of" conjunction in Tamil? Hebrew has Ben- or Bar-; Arabic has Ibn- ... something like those. The Icelanders have the most peculiar arrangement...

Srivatsan

4:42 AM

@JM Not one in today's Tamil. There might have been something in ancient Tamil, but I am not aware of it.

hi @J.M. and @Sri

Hi Raj.

Oh hi, @Rajesh

ohh why do i have to say it twice !

J. M.

I missed your first one, as I was distracted.

Srivatsan

4:44 AM

@RajeshD Sorry, got flooded in my monologue about my name... =)

Rajesh D

no problem i was just tryin to pull your leg as you did it to t.b. :-)

Srivatsan

@JM I hear "Mac" means "son of". scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?560

Rajesh D

where has t.b. gone ?

J. M.

Yes, Mac-, O' ... oh those people. :)

Rajesh D

Mc Donald ?

t.b.

4:47 AM

@Rajesh: I was about to write an answer, then remembered that it already came up in another thread, now I need to cook some coffee, and while the coffee boils up, I have some time :)

J. M.

Right; Donald's offspring.

Srivatsan

@JM How does MacNarayanan sound? =)

J. M.

More than a mouthful. :P

Rajesh D

i had a question in mind from our conversation yesterday @t.b.

Srivatsan

@JM (That's the closest conjunction I can think of in Tamil. =))

Ok, I think I should leave in a bit.

Rajesh D

4:49 AM

I have a function space which is not a vector space (due to absence of zero element) and is closed under convolution . Is there anything i can search for regarding this @t.b.

Srivatsan

@RajeshD Can you give a concrete example of such a space?

t.b.

@Rajesh: what Srivatsan said.

Rajesh D

i have to give a link.....in a bit

substitute the rationals with any countable dense subset (as mentioned in comments by Pietro in his answer) in this question which describes a class of function......i mean the function space is functions of this class, and extended to any countable dense subset instead of "a countable dense subset' mathoverflow.net/questions/61797/a-class-of-functions-closed

@t.b. @Sri

t.b.

How do you know that this class is closed under convolution? I'm rather skeptical about that.

Srivatsan

and why does it not contain the zero function? It's likely that I am missing something easy...

Rajesh D

4:57 AM

we are allowed to change the countable dense subset where it isn't smooth......we do not have to stick to a single countable dense subset

@t.b. : it is

zero function is smooth every where @Sri

Srivatsan

Er, sorry, I don't think I am following your question at MO/here...

Rajesh D

@t.b. : it can be proved that it is closed under convolution by carefully assigning the enumeration of the countable dense subset.....pick the least of the all non smooth points that coincide while we convolve...................................ans assign it to that particular shift

Srivatsan

Er, I feel bad now :/ @tb Can this be reversed?

t.b.

@Srivatsan: flag it and ask the mods to undo it.

Yes it can be reversed.

Srivatsan

@tb What's the point of the automatic conversion to CW?

J. M.

5:05 AM

The assumption is that five people already contributed to it; so, it must be a wiki!

But yes, flag for CW removal.

Srivatsan

@JM Flagged. Thanks, JM and @t.b.

Rajesh D

@t.b. :

is your coffee ready ?

t.b.

@Rajesh: I'm sorry but I don't follow that argument. In any case, I don't know of any literature that could help you with studying your class.

Rajesh D

ok

t.b.

And yes, my coffee is ready :)

Rajesh D

5:12 AM

@t.b. : sorry didn't mention...it is circular convolution rather than usual convolution, after making them periodic with period 1

t.b.

That much I understood. Look, I don't want to sound too off-putting, but I really think you need to provide some good arguments why your class should be of particular interest. It doesn't seem to be technically useful (lacking good structure to work with) nor does it seem to arise naturally in problems people think about. I believe an good class should have either one of these two arguments in favor of it, if not both.

Rajesh D

@t.b. : I am not a professional mathematician.................hence i am probing.......i do not know much......but i am not gonna leave it however anyone puts it off......(i am just kidding)

but i wish i become one

t.b.

@Rajesh: sure, I encourage you to follow up on it! However, if you want people to invest their time thinking about this class, you need to be able to sell it.

People are thinking in a rather primitive way: Give them some glass pearls that shine and glitter and they may be seduced.

Rajesh D

yeah got it

Asaf Karagila

6:43 AM

Wow...

Proof for a subspace without a basis.

That is rad.

robjohn

7:39 AM

@Jyrki: welcome back!

Jyrki Lahtonen

@JM Thanks, J.M.

t.b.

Congratulations to the two of you (a bit late, I know)

Jyrki Lahtonen

Just dropping by while enjoying my morning coffee. Off to work soon.

robjohn

9:40 AM?

@tb I've been gone all evening, so it's one of the first times :-)

Jyrki Lahtonen

No teaching duties today :-)

robjohn

7:42 AM

That makes Monday a bit better.

Jyrki Lahtonen

But yeah, my daily rhythm does not quite follow the norm. Except on Fridays when I run calculus problem/homework sessions 6 hours straight starting 8 A.M.

robjohn

Ouch. Anything going 6 straight hours...

Jyrki Lahtonen

3 groups of freshmen, 90 minutes with each starting at 8.15, 10.15, and 12.15, so unless I run it into overtime I do get a lunch break.

I wouldn't mind moving the first session to 2.15. P.M., but no students would show up. They want an early start for their weekend.

t.b.

Wouldn't that be a reason to move it?

At least hereabouts it wouldn't make much difference since the big parties are on Thursday, so no-one will show up at 8.15 either.

Jyrki Lahtonen

In theory, yes. But also many students will be going home for the weekend, and need to catch a 3 o'clock train/bus/whatever

Agree, t.b. The morning session is not very popular either. But many of the best students are there. Or rather, the less serious students who were originally assigned to go to that session have migrated to other ones, or dropped out altogether.

Zhen Lin

7:53 AM

Pfft, I have Saturday lectures. Three of them.

Jyrki Lahtonen

My condolences.

t.b.

Ah, that's the English system? 6 days work a week, almost no official holidays, isn't it?

Zhen Lin

No, it's the Cambridge system. As I understand it, most other places don't engage in this madness because they don't have 8 week terms.

Asaf Karagila

I am always amused by how people are oblivious to the fact Israel starts the week on Sunday.

Zhen Lin

And, yes, official holidays are ignored for lecturing purposes.

Asaf Karagila

7:55 AM

They always go like "Work on Sunday?!!? What the..."

Zhen Lin

Huh, apparently some Islamic countries have a Thursday-Friday weekend.

Asaf Karagila

Yeah, it makes sense.

Jyrki Lahtonen

I was wondering about that. I recently attended a workshop in Cairo, and everything closed down on Friday. I hadn't done my homework, so I had to ask...

Asaf Karagila

Recently before or after they started rebelling against Mubarak?

Jyrki Lahtonen

"recently" as in January 2010, so well before the rebelling (thank goodness)

Zhen Lin

8:00 AM

It's a fact of life back at home (though the weekend is Saturday-Sunday) that Friday afternoons are a bad time to be trying to find parking...

Jyrki Lahtonen

8:10 AM

Done with coffee. See you all later!

t.b.

See you!

Srivatsan

9:10 AM

@Gortaur ?? =)

Gortaur

@Sri: hi ) Didier is rather monsieur then mister

Srivatsan

Well, he is currently both. See the penultimate line. @Gor

Gortaur

how are you doing by the way?

Srivatsan

Doing good, thanks. How are you?

Gortaur

I'm quite ok )

foggy morning

Srivatsan

9:14 AM

I suppose it's past noon there...

Gortaur

@Srivatsan oh thanks! that would be a sad typo

@Srivatsan there where?

Srivatsan

There, at your place.

You do know that there's a 10-edit limit after which the post becomes CW, right? =)

4.15am and I am hungry :(

Gortaur

@Srivatsan nope, I didn't. should be aware now of it

@Srivatsan it's only 10:16 here and I'm still not

Srivatsan

Where are you right now?

Gortaur

in the Netherlands. where should I be?

Srivatsan

9:18 AM

Oh ok

I assumed you were in Russia =)

Gortaur

I see )

Srivatsan

M. Piau has answered.

t.b.

Gerda's gravatar looks rather familiar...

Gortaur

@tb good morning. reminds me the one I've granted to Srivatsan

Asaf Karagila

@tb Most gravatars look familiar... if you've seen one you've seen them all.

You're suspecting someone is trying to evade a suspension?

t.b.

9:26 AM

No.

Gortaur

@Srivatsan oh yes. I don't know then if someone will call Alexei by Mr. should I fix it to Г-н

t.b.

@AsafKaragila compare with this one. The difference is rather minor...

Asaf Karagila

Hm. It appears so :-d

Srivatsan

@tb Both the handles begin with "G". Now I am getting a bit suspicious... =)

Gortaur

@tb how did you manage to change your gravatars so often?

J. M.

10:00 AM

He's Proteus disguised as a math postdoc! :D

Gortaur

@JM Proteus disguised to disguise further )

t.b.

11:51 AM

Can somebody explain to me what I'm missing here? I've posted what I consider a clean and clear solution to the problem but somehow people don't appreciate it.

Gortaur

12:07 PM

@tb unfortunately I can't, my browser stopped rendering huge LaTeX formulas from yesterday

t.b.

@Gortaur: anyway, thanks for having a look :)

Gortaur

@tb: not at all. still - how did you manage to change your gravatars so often?

J. M.

@tb Looks tidy. I've upvoted.

t.b.

@Gortaur I don't know how often I explained that already: if you don't enter an email address, your gravatar depends on the md5 hash of your IP address. Since my provider changes that each and every day, so did my gravatar.

Gortaur

@tb ok, thanks. My provider seem to be different in it because getting rid of e-mail didn't help me a lot

and that light-brown nonsense is a bit weird

t.b.

12:14 PM

@JM: thanks, that's very kind! I was wondering if people were complaining because I didn't address the change of variables formula but 1. that's not needed at all, 2. I thought it would help Kyle more to see some tricks of the trade.

@Gortaur: I like this brown amoeba! You can check for yourself, e.g. here: whatismyipaddress.com

Gortaur

@tb very kind of yours )

recently my colleague told me that he read in the train the newspapers about UFO and related stuff. There was a story that one woman was raped by Sauron's Eye. Here I claim: that was not the reason for me to change my gravatar.

t.b.

Raped by that burning eye? That must hurt...

Gortaur

@tb seriously, I have no idea

t.b.

Isaac explained how you can check how the gravatar of a given address looks here.

Gortaur

thanks. I think my avatar will change when I change my name

J. M.

12:41 PM

It's kind of getting harder to catch up these past few days. We're inching towards SO levels of activity by the day, and I'm not surprised by good stuff getting avalanche'd on...

Rob

Hello everybody, how are you?

Gortaur

hello, we are ok in average a.s.

t.b.

@JM: That's right. We seem to have reached 250 active questions a day. Among which certainly 150 new ones. BTW: did you see that you're featured user on the SE main site?

Gortaur

@tb did you see it? I don't

Rob

Does anybody fell like discussing "division by 0?"

J. M.

12:49 PM

@Gortaur I think "featured users" are taken somewhat randomly. When I checked now, it was Willie who's on.

Gortaur

@JM I guess. anyway, congrats ) you're in this random list which is cool

@Rob yeah, but not here unfortunately

J. M.

I think it cycles mostly among first page/second page guys. Or those who get "Nice Answers".

So if you get one, you could be there, too! :)

Rob

In my opinion this question separartes the mathematicians from the boys

J. M.

...really?

Gortaur

@Rob in my opinion this question separates the mathematicians from the trolls. bye

J. M.

12:53 PM

I presume, for you to say this, you are a Real Mathematician™?

Rob

"Real" is such an over used word considering the importantance of the "Real numbers"

What I meant was a mature mathematician.

Srivatsan

What does Michael mean in his comment here?! Can you guys tell?

J. M.

Well, it certainly is a consonant... :)

Srivatsan

Er, ok fine.

t.b.

... and calling it "weird E letter" could create a different impression

J. M.

1:01 PM

Methinks he was being sorta flippant.

Srivatsan

Sorry, I got confused. The comment is alright...

But in any case, why is the fact that sigma is a consonant relevant at all?

Gortaur

@Srivatsan because operator weird preserves consonants I guess

J. M.

He was kidding around, that's how I read. On the other hand, I'll grant that he's not usually funny...

t.b.

Srivatsan, man, it was supposed to be funny!

Srivatsan

I, for one, haven't classified Greek letters in my mind that way. :)

Gortaur

1:04 PM

@Srivatsan do you think sigma has 3 consonants rather than 1? )

J. M.

Well, "vowel" and "consonant" are quite generic terms. I'd say alpha, epsilon, eta, iota, omicron, upsilon, and omega are vowels...

Srivatsan

@tb Pardon me, Barely awake... =)

J. M.

Or to switch to Hebrew, aleph is certainly a vowel. ;)

Gortaur

@JM you'll call our set theoretician by such spells )

Rajesh D

1:20 PM

That was the most funny question I've seen here............i guess the OP is a blonde (pardon me if its wrong to joke)

first i couldn't figure out where the 'E' was...it took me some time

:-)

Srivatsan

@RajeshD Not in good taste, IMO.

Rajesh D

sorry..................i donno how its taken in other countries.....i've never been out of india...........my sincere apologies

Srivatsan

Certainly not PC. :)

Rajesh D

1:36 PM

i hope no one flags it...............i dont want to be flagged.......i never thought i would be

Gortaur

@RajeshD don't panic

robjohn

@RajeshD I think that blonde jokes are about the most PC of non-PC jokes. Don't worry.

Srivatsan

Yeah, don't panic. @Rajesh

Gortaur

@robjohn maybe because you're brunette? ) I hope brunette jokes are PC

robjohn

@Gortaur I am, but many of my blonde friends enjoy blonde jokes.

Rajesh D

1:39 PM

@Gortaur : I was refering only to the female gender.....don't worry

robjohn

actually, to say that I am brunette is a bit of wishful thinking. I used to be brunette ;-)

Gortaur

@RajeshD :D that just decreased PC of your joke

Rajesh D

we all like blondes don't we

Gortaur

@RajeshD rather strong statement

Rajesh D

forget it...................these comments are not refering to each other......legally safe i am

robjohn

1:41 PM

@RajeshD I don't think anything you say here is legally actionable.

Gortaur

@RajeshD I wish I could star you comment about female gender but I just don't want to make it more noticable

Srivatsan

I guess the worst that can happen is that mod will remove the comment. @Rajesh

Rajesh D

i was kidding...........even any one sues me they are not going to get a penny

Gortaur

@Srivatsan hah. you're quite naive not taking into account secret services

<_<

>_>

Rajesh D

I wonder which country's laws would apply here

of course no one is gonna punch me in the face....i am too far away

robjohn

1:47 PM

*slap*

so there :-D

Rajesh D

hahha

it really hurts @Rob

@Rob are you into body building or martial arts ?

J. M.

Just don't do it again and nobody gets hurt... :P

@Gortaur What'd he do, decompose me in Banach-Tarski fashion? :D

Rajesh D

@J.M. : you serious ? you shouldn't be

i am far better than you i guess in this

J. M.

In case the ":P" was any indication...

Rajesh D

i really do not know what they mean these emoticons

i am not savvy with them

t.b.

1:51 PM

@JM He can't, he has no choice, remember?

(at least he can't prove that he can)

J. M.

Oh, right. :D

t.b.

*pheew* :D

@Srivatsan: a Sisyphean task, isn't it?

Srivatsan

@tb Done. =) Time to move on to the next typo.

Rajesh D

@t.b. : a personal question i hope you don't mind..............are you single ?

t.b.

Do you want to marry me?

5

Rajesh D

1:58 PM

Ugggh NO

Srivatsan

@RajeshD I didn't see that one coming...

J. M.

Why, you don't think he's nice?

Srivatsan

@tb Is that question just for Rajesh?

t.b.

@Srivatsan aren't three left?

Rajesh D

i was wondering your GF/BF ok with you spending time here

t.b.

1:59 PM

why not?

Rajesh D

as you may not spend with him/her

Srivatsan

@tb Yes. I am not sure whether to correct them though.

t.b.

I'm pretty good at multitasking :D

Rajesh D

i know you are single

J. M.

Dunno, I take "single" and "in a relationship" as separate, but whatever...

Srivatsan

2:00 PM

This one should be satisfying to correct: math.stackexchange.com/… @tb

Rajesh D

mutitasking is even worse......they may not like it when they figure out what you've been doing

J. M.

(damn Friendster)

@Sri: You know that Boas poem, by any chance?

Srivatsan

@JM which one, J.M.?

t.b.

@Srivatsan: this one

Srivatsan

No, thanks!

I would love to put the umlauts in Türing! =)

J. M.

2:06 PM

That particular gag was pulled in one of Stephenson's novels...

(Of course, the fictional Alan just laughed at the idea.)

t.b.

@JM have you read the latest one already?

J. M.

Actually, I'm saving some money to buy it... no spoilers please, Louise.

t.b.

No worries! I haven't read it, yet.

Rajesh D

what is it about...genre ?

Henning Makholm

@Gortaur It looks classy to me. I'd keep it.

J. M.

2:10 PM

Wikipedia: "Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk. Other labels such as 'baroque' often appear."

Rajesh D

do you recommend them . is he got anything to do with math

Gortaur

@HenningMakholm thanks, feel better now ;)

t.b.

He's one of those very rare writers who manage to consistently get better over time. Well, Anathem was a bit of a disappointment (to me), but what do you expect, after the Cycle.

robjohn

@HenningMakholm Good afternoon.

Henning Makholm

Afternoon.

Gortaur

2:13 PM

@tb the time has come?

robjohn

@tb I've only read a couple of his books, but I've liked what I've read.

t.b.

@Gortaur Nah, not yet :)

robjohn

@HenningMakholm Although I've been accepted, I still don't know what the OP was asking. :-)

I guess one of my shots in the dark hit close to the mark.

Rajesh D

ok guys i am off to get out and fetch food.....bye

Henning Makholm

I loved Cryptonomicon and liked The Diamond Age fairly well. Then I munched my way through the entire Baroque Cycle and never really figured out why I should care...

J. M.

2:16 PM

The wordiness is a strength and weakness, I'll grant.

For instance, I got bored when he was describing how this character eats cereal in gory detail...

t.b.

I couldn't believe it. What was that like three or four pages?

Henning Makholm

It's one of those passages that seem to divide people. Many people find it completely hilarious.

robjohn

@Gortaur the time?

Speaking of time, it's about time to make my morning visit to the park.

Neal Stephenson is about half a year younger than I am. He was born on Halloween.

Neal Stephenson

Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk. Other labels such as 'baroque' often appear. Stephenson explores areas such as mathematics, cryptography, philosophy, currency, and the history of science. He also writes non-fiction articles about technology in publications such as Wired. He has worked part-time as an advisor for Blue Origin, a company (funded by Jeff Bezos) developing a ma...

I do remember reading an article in Wired by him, though I don't remember the subject of the article. It was a long time ago.

t.b.

Some questions are just ...

J. M.

Halloween. Figures, right?

@tb Dunno. Maybe he forgot scalars all of a sudden...

robjohn

2:31 PM

@tb nicely commented.

off to the park. bbl

t.b.

see you!