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01:00 - 17:0017:00 - 00:00

1:05 AM
So if a derivative is how steep a function is at point on the graph, what is the second derivative?
How much the slope itself is changing?
 
1:52 AM
Does anyone here know what's the difference between a disconnected cake and connected cake? I need examples other than the technical definition because I can't appreciate it
 
 
1 hour later…
3:11 AM
@Startec That's right. For example, take f(x)=x^2. At the middle of the graph of y=x^2, the curve is flat; to the left and right it becomes increasingly steeper, but in the opposite directions. So the slope is more and more positive/negative the further out you go, and the rate at which that slope changes happens to be constant.
(Another way to put it: f'(x) is the rate at which f(x) changes with x, whereas f''(x) is the rate at which f'(x)---the rate of change---changes)
 
Any ideas on how to prove this is always positive for $\alpha^2 < 1$ and $\theta > 0$?
 
 
2 hours later…
5:03 AM
Is the function given below, a counterexample to 'Suppose $f$ is a continuous bijection of a (not necessarily compact) metric space $X$ onto metric space $Y$, then inverse $f^{-1}$ continuous':
$$
g(x)=\left\{
\begin{array}{c}
\frac1y, \,\,\,1\le y<\infty \\
0,\,\,\,y=0
\end{array}
\right.
$$
I meant $$
g(x)=\left\{
\begin{array}{c}
\frac1x, \,\,\,1\le x<\infty \\
0,\,\,\,x=0
\end{array}
\right.
$$
can't edit now
 
5:22 AM
@AkivaWeinberger, will you please look at my question above?
 
So it's a map from $\{0\}\cup[1,\infty)\to[0,1]$?
I think works, actually
You could also do $[0,1)\cup[2,3]\to[0,2]$ defined by $f(x)=x$ if $x\in[0,1)$ and $f(x)=x-1$ if $x\in[2,3]$
or $[0,2\pi)\to S^1$ defined by $f(x)=e^{ix}$ (i.e. rolling it into a circle)
@Silent
 
Wow, @AkivaWeinberger, thank you very much! I, in fact had only that, rolling into circle example, which seemed a bit sophisticated. Thanks for this elementary example.
 
Thanks @sem
@Semiclassical
 
Continuous functions keep what's connected connected. Homeomorphisms also keep what's disconnected disconnected.
 
6:06 AM
@Silent a very easy example: the identity from $\Bbb R$ with the discrete topology to $\Bbb R$ with the usual topology
 
6:23 AM
@BalarkaSen My project advisor says that most M.Math students from ISI just end up knowing a whole lot of fancy words without knowing anything about them. Didn't know how true that was
 
6:35 AM
awesome Pafnuty Lvovich Chebyshev fact of the day: he has family roots that trace back to a militant leader of the Tartar clan, who are more well known for an alliance they made with the Mongols lead by Genghis Khan
@WillHunting I hope global warming increases the iceberg separation and there is more shark food in the ocean for our prehistoric friends that are on the top of your food chain, basically the most necessary animal in the oceans ecosystem arguably
 
this post is soooo random
 
6:56 AM
@AlessandroCodenotti Wow! Awesome :-)
Thank you
 
 
1 hour later…
7:57 AM
I missed it but I guess you already solved the issue
 
8:12 AM
I guess "open functions" (functions which map open sets to open sets) would be functions that "preserve disconnectedness"
and continuous functions are ones that "preserve connectedness"
Does that make sense?
No it doesn't. Never mind.
$f:(-2,-1)\cup(1,2)$ defined by $f(x)=|x|$ doesn't "preserve disconnectedness" in any meaningful way.
Nor does the constant function (the function to a one-point space).
 
@AlessandroCodenotti nope
i still haven't figured out $\{(z,e^z) : z\in \Bbb C\}$ :/
 
Did you think about the hint I gave you?
 
that $e^z$ is periodic?
 
8:45 AM
Yes
 
hmm. im not sure how to use it. i think it can be shown that the set's closure is the whole space, but how to "project" (i know projection isn't good) it to $\Bbb A ^1$ is not clear to me @AlessandroCodenotti
maybe looking at $z$ in a circle of radius $2\pi$ ?
 
The projection always works in the same, $(x,y)\mapsto x$ or $(x,y)\mapsto y$, you can think about this problem in terms of projections if you want, but which coordinate are you projecting on?
 
the second one would be better
because as we said $Im(e^z)$ is not closed in $\Bbb A ^ 1$
 
Lie groups! Does every element of a connected Lie group admit a root? If the exponential map is surjective, then yes. But its not always surjective
 
But the projection is not closed, so the image not being closed isn't very helpful
 
9:03 AM
i know, that's why im stuck.
 
9:15 AM
So think about my hint instead
Another hint is that often the fibers of projections are more interesting than their images
 
what is fibers ?@AlessandroCodenotti
 
Preimages of points
 
ok so it is enough to look at the preimage of $B_0(2\pi)$
maybe looking at the preimage of $0$ ? @AlessandroCodenotti
 
I'm thinking of projecting on the first coordinate actually
 
that would give $\Bbb A^1$
 
9:27 AM
Sure, but look at the fibers
 
the fibers are $\{(z,e^z)\}$
 
What's the fiber over 0
 
$\emptyset$
 
If the image of the projection is the whole of $\Bbb A^1$ how can it have an empty fiber?
 
i know its wrong.
its only $\{(0,1)\}$ as i wrote earlier?
 
9:38 AM
Whoa!
If $\epsilon_{12}=1$, $\epsilon_{21}=-1$, and $\epsilon_{11}=\epsilon_{22}=0$, then $P\epsilon P^\top=\det(P)\epsilon$
Is that just a weird coincidence?
Oh wait I see
Sort of
 
Ah, wait, I got confused, projecting in the second coordinate was good, look at those fibers
 
that only works for size 2 matrices
 
Hold on, so the inverse of $\begin{bmatrix}a&b\\c&d\end{bmatrix}$ is $\frac1{\det(P)}\begin{bmatrix}d&-b\\-c&a\end{bmatrix}$
 
yes
something like that
 
@AlessandroCodenotti so here the preimage of $0$ is empty because $e^z$ is never zero
 
9:44 AM
and that last one has a superficial similarity to $P^\top$
 
Ok let's look at the preimage of $1$ instead
 
so its $\{(z,e^z) : e^z =1 \}$
 
Is that actually $\epsilon P^\top\epsilon$?
 
@Liad right, how many elements does this have?
 
no you are missing a minus sign because $\epsilon^2 = -I$
 
9:47 AM
Oh OK so hold on
 
Hmm isn't that suspicious? Can that happen with polynomials?
 
it can't
because polynomials have finite number of zeros, this is how i proved it's closure is the whole space
(the closure of the set we started with)
 
So $P^{-1}=-\frac1{\det(P )}\epsilon P^\top\epsilon$?
 
for size 2 matrices only
 
9:49 AM
Wait if proved the closure is the whole space then you're done, you already know it's not a variety
 
@mercio Right, because for 3x3 and above, the entries of the inverse matrix are quadratic instead of linear
(divided by the determinant)
 
my bad. @AlessandroCodenotti but itsn't it easier showing the closure is the whole space?
 
It's the same argument
 
maybe i did something wrong
the closure is the zero set of a finite number of polynomials right ?@AlessandroCodenotti
 
9:51 AM
The entries of the inverse matrix still are degree (n-1) polynomials in the entries of the original matrix, divided by the determinant
 
Right, yeah
 
So how did you show that the closure is the whole space?
 
i just going over it now, doubting my argument ^^
if $f$ vanish on the set then $f(z,e^z)=0$ for all $z$
that implies that $f$ has infinite number of zeros, doesn't it? @AlessandroCodenotti
 
10:14 AM
if we fix $z_0$ and look at $f(z_0,.)$ we get that this is a polynomial in $1$ variable
@AlessandroCodenotti with infinite number of zeros, so it must be the zero polynomial
 
Yeah that works
 
 
2 hours later…
12:38 PM
@Albas He's quite correct
M.Math in ISI is bullshit
 
1:02 PM
One thing I really want to happen if dedekind finite sets exists: Once a fool is smacked by them, they took a segmented shape that increasingly get segmented and then vanished like seeing an abstract artwork thining out of sight
Sounds like M.Math is a good test subject > : D
 
1:14 PM
in The h Bar, 2 hours ago, by Physics Meta
0
Q: Is the demise of Stack Exchange (as we know it) ineluctable?

PierreI feel concerned about a thought that I had recently. I am wondering if the current policy about duplicate questions may become problematic in the (very) long term for the health of Stack Exchange. Let me explain: as far as I understand, questions are marked duplicate when they have already bee...

I don't think questions can ever be exhausted
 
1:31 PM
Hi @Eric
 
Can anybody explain how a function can be represented as a weighted sum of Dirac delta functions?
 
2:12 PM
@BalarkaSen She's*. Anyway, whats up
 
Came back home today, winter break for the next 1.5 months
 
Oh you got your winter break already... I still have exams
 
rip
Good luck!
 
I have to study biology man, it's just crazy. Why do I have to care about how many offsprings a fruit fly has ...
 
RIP
 
2:38 PM
I don't get a break after my exams :(
 
Sad
 
3:00 PM
Does anyone know how to calculate the number of ways to put 12 students into 4 groups of any size(excluding size 0)?
 
I've heard of him but I don't really know what he does
There's something called the Langlands program, which is a series of conjectures(?), that's all I know
 
@Secret Yes that is right. I plotted $n/k$ for $n=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12$ and $k=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12$.
 
Is there a way to make the Peano axioms complete ?
By adding more axioms I mean
 
@Astyx yes
 
By adding finitely many axioms ?
 
3:24 PM
Let $T$ be all the sentences $\varphi$ in the language of PA such that $\Bbb N \vDash \varphi$
then no
by Godel's incompleteness
 
Doesn't a theory need to have countably many axioms at most ?
Oh wait silly question
 
not really, but it doesn't change anything in this case
 
Yeah I figured
 
so Godel's incompleteness tells you something stronger
 
Cause there are only countably many propositions anyways
 
3:27 PM
you can't add a $\Delta_1$ set of axioms to form a complete extension of PA
 
$\Delta_1$ meaning recursively enumerable ?
 
@Astyx sorry, slow internet
 
No issue
 
@Astyx $\Sigma_1$ = recursively enumerable, $\Pi_1$ = recursively co-enumerable, $\Delta_1 = \Sigma_1 \cap \Pi_1$
 
Oh cool
 
3:36 PM
and we know that my $T$ is $\Sigma_1$ so it can't be that one
 
Yeah that's the proof right ?
You show that $T$ is $\Sigma_1$ and that $Th(\Bbb N)$ isn't
So they can't be equal
 
no, I'm stupid, my T is Th(N), and neither of them is $\Sigma_1$, sorry
 
The whole point of Gödel's incompleteness theorem is that arithmetic can never be complete (as long as we can describe the axioms)
 
What does the thing in parenthesis mean ?
 
The whole point of Gödel's incompleteness theorem is that arithmetic can never be complete (as long as we can describe the axioms)
 
3:48 PM
(And just to make sure, the proof of Gödel tells you that the set of things you can prove is recursively enumerable and that the set of things that are true/false in $\Bbb N$ is not right ?)
 
If $X$ is a connected topological space, does it follow that $X$ has a single connected component (namely, itself)? This feels true, but I can't seem to prove it.
 
What definitions do you use ? @user193319
But yes this is true IIRC
 
A space is connected if it cannot be written as a union of two nonempty, disjoint, open sets.
And connected components are maximal connected subspaces.
 
Well suppose it has two connected component
And see it's not connected
 
That wasn't meant to be sent twice
 
3:53 PM
Well, two connected components is easy. But a priori $X$ could be an arbitrary union of connected components.
 
Sorry
Internet was laggy
 
@Astyx the "proof" of Godel doesn't say that, Godel itself says that.
 
@Astyx There's an algorithm that, given a statement, tells us whether or not it's an axiom
is what it means
 
Ok right
 
An algorithm that halts and tells us "yes this is an axiom" or "no it's not"
 
3:54 PM
so basically $\Delta_1$
 
That's why just adding "all true things" doesn't count
There's no axiom that tells us whether or not a given statement is true
 
but wiki says $\Sigma_1$ so I don't know
maybe $\Sigma_1$ suffices
i.e. the algorithm says "yes this is an axiom" or times out
 
I was taught $\Sigma_1$ IIRC
 
yeah sorry
 
@user193319 Suppose it has at least two then
 
3:56 PM
@user193319 What does "maximal" mean
 
And take one of the two and the union of the rest
 
@Astyx But are the connected components open? I know they are closed.
 
Not necessarily
In $\Bbb Q$ the connected components are points
and points aren't open in $\Bbb Q$
 
It depends on the topology though
 
@AkivaWeinberger $C$ is maximally connected if whenever $K$ is connected and $C \subseteq K$, then $C=K$.
 
3:58 PM
So if the entire space $X$ is connected, then $X$ is the only maximally connected set
so there is only one connected component
Bye
 
There's path connectedness and connectedness though
I'm pretty sure $\Bbb Q$ is connected
 
@Astyx No. If $r$ is any irrational, $(-\infty, r) \cap \Bbb{Q}$ and $(r, \infty) \cap \Bbb{Q}$ separate $\Bbb{Q}$.
 
Huh
Fair enough
 
@Astyx $\Bbb Q$ is totally disconnected
 
@AlessandroCodenotti maybe $\Bbb Q$ is a singleton :P
 
4:05 PM
Yeah my brain just broke for a second
 
@LeakyNun Th(N) cannot be Σ[k] for any natural k, otherwise it can be decided by the k-th Turing jump, which can be captured by a Σ[k+1] arithmetical property, which is impossible by the relativization of the incompleteness theorem.
Just in case you wanted a quick justification for that claim.
 
thanks
I'm also wondering, if r1 and r2 are real numbers such that {q rational | q<r1} and {q rational | q<r2} are Δ[1], does it follow that {q rational | q<r1+r2} is also Δ1?
it would be very stupid if it wasn't
but I can't prove that it is
@user21820
 
In my exam we proved that it was but we assumed operations to be computable in the coding of rationnals we had
 
@Astyx how does the proof go, briefly?
I mean, rational addition is obviously computable
 
We proved that for a number to be $\Delta_1$ you have to be able to compute a sequence of rationnals of which it is the upper bound
 
4:16 PM
@LeakyNun I didn't think through carefully, but... Δ1 is equivalent to computable, right? Computable reals are closed under addition. And given any real r we have { q : q∈Q and q<r } is recursive iff r is a computable real.
 
Same for lower bound
Computable reals form a closed field
 
@Astyx inverse...
 
So once you have that it's easy to compute the sum of two rationnals, so it's easy to bound below and above
inverse ?
 
what do you mean for a number to be $\Delta_1$?
 
@LeakyNun Also there. If a computable real is nonzero, its inverse is computable too.
 
4:19 PM
The definition we had is that you can enumerate $\{q\in\Bbb Q, a\le r\}$
 
@user21820 how do you prove your last statement?
 
And $\{q\in\Bbb Q, a\gt r\}$
 
I've heard that it's very far away from the truth
great @Astyx
so there isn't like a simple formula?
 
What for ?
 
to express q < r1 + r2 in terms of ?q < r1 and ?q < r2
where ?q means a rational number (generally distinct from q)
 
4:23 PM
Sure
Oh wait
No
Not that I can think of at least
 
how do you go from sequence to dedekind cut?
 
One direction is obvious
 
neither direction is obvious, realy
 
Well if you can enumerate $\{q\in \Bbb Q, q\le r\}$ you already have a sequence of which $r$ is the upper bound
 
how?
 
4:25 PM
Take the enumeration
 
@LeakyNun If { q : q∈Q and q<r } is recursive then you can compute arbitrarily precise approximation of r, so r is computable. But if r is computable, I might be incorrect in claiming { q : q∈Q and q<r } is computable.
 
ok
@Astyx I’m stupid
 
Neh, these things drive one crazy
 
@Astyx I don't know why people want to use Dedekind cuts... =P
 
I guess it makes life easier
 
4:27 PM
No?! Cauchy sequences are much easier in my opinion.
 
We used Dedekind cuts to prove that it's arbitrarily approximable
 
@Astyx I mean we can just never introduce Dedekind cuts, and hence never have to bother about them.
But back to LeakyNun's question, I don't know how to make a counter-example.
 
For the other way around, you take you're computable sequence $u_n$ and compute $M_n = \sup(u_1,\dots, u_n)$, then a rationnal if it's $\le M_n$, then $M_{n+1}$, etc. And everytime $M_n$ gets bigger you start over for the rationnals
 
Ultrafilters are the best way to construct reals :3
 
We're not trying to construct reals
We're trying to compute them !
Answering this is giving me anxiety because I feel like I failed explaining this in my exam ..
 
4:32 PM
I think Turing, in his original famous paper, said that if $\gamma$ turned out to have a finite decimal expansion (which it might, we don't know), then the algorithms we have for determining its digits might never halt
because they'd work by giving tighter and tighter bounds on the number, which will eventually be $(0.57\dots 39999,0.57\dots 40000)$
(assuming the last digit is a $4$, which I chose randomly)
so the algorithm will never be able to find that last digit
$\gamma$ would still be computable in that case anyway - just have the algorithm write out the finitely many digits - but it's still weird
Like, we don't have a constructive proof that $\gamma$ is computable.
This is weird because it's dependent on the base we're using
 
@LeakyNun Oh so I see my claim is true non-constructively. If r is rational, clearly { q : q∈Q and q<r } is computable. If r is irrational, then given any rational k/m we can compute m·r until it clearly falls between two integers, so we know whether k<m·r or not.
 
@Astyx does the exam assert my statement or ask you to prove or refute it?
 
Assert it
 
great
 
@AkivaWeinberger My above comment doesn't seem to rely on bases.
 
4:37 PM
o..o
 
It asserts the set of computable reals is a closed field
 
using my formulation?
 
a closed field where equality is not decidable
 
Cauchy or Dedekind?
 
Using the formulation $\alpha$ is computable iff $\{q\in \Bbb Q, q\le\alpha\}$ and $\{q\in \Bbb Q, q\gt\alpha\}$ are recursively enumerable
 
4:38 PM
actually how are you going to do divisions if you don't know if you are dividing by 0 or not
 
you must be kidding me
 
Or rather the sets of coding for those rationnals
 
@mercio make it a partial function
(I don’t know how deeply you want to dive into this, mercio
how about an easier question
 
@mercio Given a program encoding r (as Cauchy sequence), you can computably construct a program encoding the sequence of the reciprocals of the approximants. If r was nonzero, that program would encode the inverse of r. But the axioms for RCF don't have a division function-symbol.
 
@Astyx how to prove that if r is computable then so is -r?
 
4:41 PM
by making a special case for when $r$ is rational
 
My guess is you have 0
And it is assumed substraction (of rationnals) is computable
 
do the operations have to be computable ?
 
So if you have a superior sequence of an irrationnal (the rationnal case is obvious) you take it's negation and you get an inferior sequence
 
well this is not very un-disappointing
 
(by inferior/superior sequence i mean enumeration of things above/below that real)
Nothing transcendental tbh
 
4:44 PM
So this isn’t a computable function R -> R
 
Just technical stuff
 
@mercio As a field, no, because all we are asking is whether the set of computable reals under normal arithmetic forms a field or not. But it is clear (at least for Cauchy computable reals) both the addition and multiplication operations and additive inverse are themselves computable.
 
@LeakyNun What isnt ?
 
@user21820 I wasn't talking about what you said, I was talking about what I said
 
@Astyx negation
 
4:45 PM
I think it is
 
@AkivaWeinberger Yes I was saying that my comment seems to be the same flavour as your comment, just without the bases.
 
@Astyx i think it isn’t because you need to decide whether the number is rational
 
Not really
That's only for simplicity of the proof
 
then how?
 
I agree with Leaky on this one
 
4:47 PM
But otherwise you just need to remove the supp from the upperbound (which you can do by keeping the sup of values already seen and enumerating it everytime you come accross something bigger)
 
@Astyx Are you saying additive inverse of Dedekind computable reals is computable? I don't think so...
 
For the otherway around though it might be trickier
@user21820 Assuming all operations are computable that is
 
@Astyx What is the meaning of that? We of course use a standard encoding of rationals, but what is your program that computes the additive inverse?
 
In my exam they didn't talk about a specific encoding, they just said we had an encoding for which +, -, * and / are computable.
 
yes but only for rationals
 
4:50 PM
But isn't the additive inverse just negating the first bit in standard representation ?
 
can you re explain what your set R is ?
 
Would you say that Moore's law is descriptive or prescriptive?
 
@Astyx Choose your favourite encoding and demonstrate a program that does it.
 
I don't know much about that
I'm not saying it's possible, I'm saying we assumed it
 
an encoding of rationals for which + - * and / are computable doesn't mean you can assume - is computable for all reals
 
4:52 PM
@Astyx Are you sure the exam assumed that the Dedekind cut encoding of computable reals supports this?
 
@AkivaWeinberger it's a little bit of both. As an observation about how computational power was increasing over time, it's descriptive. But people then went and used it to set growth targets, in which case it's prescriptive
 
As I stated above, the Cauchy sequence encoding supports +,−,· and division by nonzero, but it's still impossible to determine equality to zero so you cannot get computable division in general.
 
@mercio The set of reals such that the sets of encodings of the rationnals of the sets $\{q\in\Bbb Q, q\le\alpha \}$ and $\{q\in \Bbb Q, q\gt \alpha\}$ are recursively enumerable. But you might not want to dive into that
 
I want to dive into that
recursively enumerable means ?
 
@mercio A program enumerates it (but may have to run forever to do so).
 
4:55 PM
so we have a program that takes a rational number and tells us in finite time if $q \le \alpha$ or if $q > \alpha$ ?
 
@user21820 What do both those terms mean ? I'm very new to this subject. The goal of the exam was to construct the field of computable reals over 4 or 5 questions, assuming we had a computable coding for rationnals for which addition, substraction, multiplication and division are all computable
No
We have a program that spits out $q_1\le \alpha$, then $q_2\le \alpha$, ...
 
it's basically the same thing because your two sets partition $\Bbb Q$
 
And such that $\{q_i, i\ge 1\} = \{q\in \Bbb Q, q\le \alpha\}$
It's not the same thing at all
 
@Astyx I simply don't believe the claim you made, whether it is an accurate representation of your exam question. @LeakyNun said he doesn't think the negation of Dedekind cut computable reals is computable. I also don't.
 
I also don't
 
4:57 PM
There are more transistors than leaves
 
besides, it is also pretty hard to tell if a Turing machine will describe a real number or not
 
on the planet
 
that's scary
 
I'm saying you only need a finite time to know if a rationnal below $\alpha$ is below $\alpha$. You might never know wether a rationnal above $\alpha$ is not below $\alpha$
 
but isn't $\{q \in \Bbb Q, q > \alpha\}$ recursively enumerable ?
 
4:58 PM
Yes
That's why you need both
Oh my bad
I misread what you meant
Yes you're right
 
and I suppose you want your field to be a quotient of the set of turing machines that do that
 
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