Mathematics - 2012-02-12 (page 1 of 2)

David Wallace

00:28

@DanBrumleve - what are you actually getting at with the question? Why is there special significance for you in the fact that zeta(2) and sqrt(e) are so close?

Dan Brumleve

short definitions is all really

i also found the logzeta(n+(2/3)^(n-1))~2^-n formula, if that is what @dider was trying to explain i didn't understand

also i think my own answer explains some of the significance although i didn't have that in mind when i wrote the question

one reason i think it is significant is that it is a closer almost-equality than pi ~ 4 and i think there are good explanations for that one.

there are plenty of examples but how to quantify it is part of the question.

it is an open-ended question but i think it is a "real question". could have gotten a better answer than the one i was able to cook up.

David Wallace

00:45

Yeah, it's kind of assuming there's a good reason. A bit like asking why pi is close to sqrt(10). Unless it's part of a pattern, I don't think there's a good reason for there to be a good answer.

Henning Makholm

I hate it when the OP accepts my answer moments before I figure out that it is completely rubbish.

David Wallace

Yeah, you can always delete it when that happens though, can't you?

Henning Makholm

Accepted answers can't be deleted by the author.

David Wallace

Oh, I didn't realise. That's a bummer; I guess all you can do is put a comment rescinding it.

Or ask the OP to undo the acceptance.

user19161

@HenningMakholm You can flag for mod attention.

user19161

00:55

Should be settled in no time.

David Wallace

Or is it just the "oh damn" thing. You realise that you've made a mistake, and now it's suddenly a whole lot harder to undo.

user19161

Yes, some things in life can't be undone that easily.

Henning Makholm

Just the oh damn.

David Wallace

:-)

user19161

Or maybe oh no my answer is wrong and now I will be severely downvoted.

David Wallace

00:59

Downvoting is painless. All you do is go answer another question somewhere. One upvote cancels out 5 downvotes.

user19161

But just do a rep recalc after removing post and all is good.

David Wallace

I get upset by downvotes only when I know I'm right, and the downvoters give no explanation.

user19161

@DavidWallace Not exactly painless though, 2 is a positive number.

user19161

I used to not downvote, and then after seeing so many downvotes everywhere, I started downvoting too.

David Wallace

Yes, but what does it really hurt. Reputation is a meaningless number. It's not like it translates into money, or anything.

user19161

01:01

At first I commented, but after seeing many poor answers on say ELU I thought there was no point commenting on every single downvote.

user19161

@DavidWallace Well, in the same way there are things in life which may matter other than money.

user19161

Might be important to some people.

David Wallace

Sure, I guess I'm just arrogant. Like I believe that my answers are NEVER poor (at least, except for the ones where I realise afterwards I've goofed), and if someone downvotes they MUST be wrong; and if I see a comment, I can tell they WHY they're wrong. :-) So it's my arrogance that is driving my need to see the comment.

Sure, I think about Jon Skeet over on Stack Overflow. He said somewhere he tries to get 200 rep points every day. I think about how much time this must take him, and realise that SO is a significant chunk of his life.

user19161

To the point where there was a joke on MSO which said that the rep cap was for people to get a life outside SE.

David Wallace

Hehehe. I didn't hear that. So true though.

user19161

01:08

Of course I also believe that my answers are not wrong like you.

user19161

But the more you answer the more downvotes you get.

user19161

Sometimes it's just a matter of difference in perspective, especially on ELU.

user19161

Math is more objective of course.

Henning Makholm

Well, the acceptance is gone now. I'll let the faulty answer linger as an example of what doesn't work -- at least until it reaches a score of ±3 and I can earn a badge by deleting it. :-)

user19161

@HenningMakholm Nice trick to earn a badge!

Henning Makholm

01:10

Well, it would be cheating to write nonsense deliberately, but now it's there ...

user19161

But seriously I think it should not be there. It is misleading.

user19161

Maybe convert it to a comment to point out whatever it is?

user19161

This is of course if we are sticking strictly to the view that answers should be answers and not other stuff.

Henning Makholm

The bad reasoning itself is struck out, so it's not as if anybody will be fooled by it. And I still carry a feeble hope of finding a way to patch it.

user19161

Ah OK, maybe in 5 min it will be edited to become the better solution.

David Wallace

01:13

Has a correct answer to the question been posted?

user19161

No idea, I did not even take a look. :-)

David Wallace

If not, then you could leave your post, but put a comment saying "I know this is wrong, but maybe it will help lead someone to a correct solution".

Henning Makholm

@DavidWallace No. (It's here, buy the way).

David Wallace

If there IS a correct answer there, then I would suggest that your post should be deleted.

OK. I just took a look. I think you've made it quite clear that your first attempt at an answer is not to be taken seriously.

user19161

I flagged some joke answers that were not answers but the mods chose not to remove it, probably because the joke was too well received.

David Wallace

01:18

I guess the mods are hoping that the REAL answer(s) will rise to the top.

user19161

ANd you know some of these jokes actually get very high rep.

David Wallace

What did I just say, about rep being meaningless?

user19161

I once gave an answer that was not a joke but because it looked like a joke it was downvoted!

David Wallace

Did the downvoter actually say that was why it was downvoted?

user19161

Nope but I can understand the downvote.

user19161

01:20

Either the perceived joke was not funny

user19161

Or he thought that was not an answer at all because that question is a bit weird

David Wallace

Maybe it was downvoted for a completely different reason. If the downvoter didn't comment, there's no way you'll ever know.

user19161

I think downvotes should be reserved for outright wrong answers only.

user19161

Sometimes people don't fill in the blanks. That does not mean the answer is wrong.

Henning Makholm

An answer can still be unhelpful without being wrong, if it leaves gaps that it is evident that the asker won't be able to bridge by himself.

David Wallace

01:24

I'm not so sure. Their purpose is to ensure that the best answers move upwards on the page. Of course, they're just half of the equation. To vote on a question, I think one should decide whether to do so by pushing a good answer up, or a bad answer down. I also think it's rude to do both.

user19161

In such a case I would leave a comment instead of downvoting so that the answerer can edit it.

David Wallace

But if there are lots of good answers, and only one bad answer, it's worth a downvote, no matter whether it's bad by being WRONG, by being INCOMPLETE, or by being not a match to the question.

user19161

There are different ways to vote. Sometimes people cast their vote to move the relative position of the posts.

user19161

I cast + to what I like and - to wrong. So it's different.

David Wallace

Umm, my "I'm not so sure..." was a response to Jasper's "I think downvotes...", not to Henning's comment.

user19161

01:26

We should not penalise an answerer who answered correctly just to move the relative positions.

David Wallace

Umm, @HenningMakholm, I agree 100% with this; except for the case where the answer helps another person to bridge the gap.

Sure, if the answer is correct and matches the question, it should not get downvoted, no matter what.

Henning Makholm

In any case, it is not my impression that we have a real problem with spurious downvotes.

There's some random background noise of drive-by downvoting, but it's very rare, considering that downvotes are anonymous and this is the internet.

David Wallace

Yeah, I might be currently grumpy because just today, I was the victim of a swarm of downvotes on ELU.

My remarks about rep being meaningless are addressed as much to myself as to anyone else, if that makes any sense.

Henning Makholm

A swarm, even? If it's all on different answers, you could flag one for moderator attention to ask them to wand over it with the suspicious-voting-pattern detector.

David Wallace

No, there was one question that received (IMO) 1 wrong answer and 2 correct answers. The wrong answer got accepted, plus quite a few upvotes. My answer got 4 downvotes and the other correct answer got 5. Only one downvoter commented.

It all seemed to happen within minutes.

However, it's wrong of me to move that discussion here, particular when it's not even maths related.

I was really only commenting on my current grumpiness.

I need to go outside in the sun and kick a football around, or something.

Henning Makholm

01:35

It's not like there seems to be a big crowd here all waiting to discus non-commutative cohomology.

I need to go to sleep. Later, everyone who might be listening.

David Wallace

Yes, but some of the people involved are likely to drop around here later on; and it could escalate into something nasty. I should be trying to avoid that.

Mariano Suárez-Alvarez

01:47

what's ELU?

Dylan Moreland

@MarianoSuárezAlvarez english.stackexchange.com I think

"English Language & Usage"

Mariano Suárez-Alvarez

ah

I hate the name of that site

I am sure it means English Language and English Usage but...

Dylan Moreland

Too many words in it :)

user19161

@DavidWallace Not wrong but nobody will be discussing it with you!

user19161

@DavidWallace Sounds like a good idea!

user19161

01:53

@HenningMakholm Goodnight!

David Wallace

Sorry, Jasper, what's a good idea?

user19161

@DavidWallace I see you are not aware of the left and right arrows in SE chat rooms!

Dylan Moreland

@DavidWallace It seems like they downvote much more liberally on that site.

user19161

Hover over the right of the message you wanna reply to. Click the arrow there to reply. CLicking on the left arrow links backwards.

user19161

Many, many people don't know about these arrows!

David Wallace

01:56

Cool! I noticed the grey shading earlier, and wondered what it was about.

user19161

@DylanMoreland Indeed.

Tim

I don't see left arrow link, just flag as offended, click for reply and star as like

David Wallace

@DylanMoreland - yeah, they seem to. Not as fiercely as Stack Overflow.

user19161

@MarianoSuárezAlvarez Then it will be ELEU instead!

Mariano Suárez-Alvarez

this chat thing is surely shiney enough to be able to cause epileptic attacks on subseptible people...

David Wallace

01:57

Maybe the difference for me is that in Stack Overflow, if I answer something wrongly, I can see immediately that I've done so. The problem is to try and edit it quickly, before the downvotes swarm in. On ELU, things aren't as obvious.

user19161

@MarianoSuárezAlvarez Did my ping give you a heart attack?

Mariano Suárez-Alvarez

heh

user19161

@david I know which question you are referring to by the way, I just took a look.

David Wallace

Also, because there are so many varieties of English and different ways of speaking, one person's correct answer may be wrong in another person's dialect.

Yeah, I realised that soon after I posted my comment above, about being grumpy, my answer got an upvote :-)

Dylan Moreland

I was surprised that there aren't more references on "ELU". I've only been lurking there for a few days but it seems like every question will get 3-5 conflicting assertions in response.

David Wallace

02:00

Thanks if it was you, Jasper.

user19161

@DavidWallace I have not voted yet!

David Wallace

@DylanMoreland - you're right. More responders need to quote more reputable sources. However, I'm one of the worst offenders in that regard.

user19161

@david I have to say I think a comma should not be there, but I am not voting on any posts there.

David Wallace

Often though, when it's a non-English speaker asking something that's easy for a well-educated native speaker to explain, it's easy just to do so. And quite hard to find sources to back oneself up.

Dylan Moreland

That seems fine. I don't look at those questions so much.

David Wallace

02:03

@Jasper, that's OK. I think this one might come down to a matter of opinion.

It just seemed really nasty to have got so many downvotes so quickly.

user19161

Just to add, the comma is the most difficult punctuation in English!

David Wallace

True dat. If anything, I err towards over-using, rather than the other way.

Dylan Moreland

But the one about commas, which is the one I think you're talking about, was interesting. There's a real issue there, and both options seem strange for different reasons. I would welcome an appeal to authority!

Tim

What post are you talking about?

David Wallace

Hang on! Jasper said we weren't going to discuss it here.

user19161

02:05

1

Q: Where does the comma go?

Does a sentence like this need a comma where the question mark stands? Sunshine is an app for smartphones, tablets and computers [?] that lets you track and post weather news to blogs, social networks and other services.

comma

user19161

@DavidWallace Just to let Tim know.

user19161

@tim Are you a native speaker of English?

Tim

@JasperLoy Thanks! Do I look like one?

user19161

@Tim Nope.

Tim

@JasperLoy :)

user19161

02:10

@Tim OK I am heading back to ELU chat room now. I have not found the way but am still trying. I hope you find yours too.

Tim

@JasperLoy Bye. Thanks!

Mariano Suárez-Alvarez

if one puts the comma there, people will think that one is German

no one wants that

David Wallace

I would rather be thought German than misunderstood.

In fact, I believe I am actually 3/16 German :-)

J G

04:04

Hello!

Daniil

06:36

Howdy, good weekend to everyone

anon

everyone's out partying

Daniil

math.stackexchange.com/questions/108388/… this is an interesting question

Asaf Karagila

07:37

Top of the morrow to you all, and whatnot.

anon

New season of Sherlock came out last month right under my nose.

Asaf Karagila

Like lines of cocaine!

anon

Sherlock isn't that good.

Asaf Karagila

But he'd often use cocaine.

anon

Ah, this is true.

Kannappan Sampath

07:42

I have found a radically new solution to the problem I was editing! @anon

Asaf Karagila

You know, last night I had linked the infamous $\aleph_1$ answer in an answer I wrote. I wonder if you'll ever sit through and understand it, @anon.

anon

Ah, that explains the upvote earlier. I was quite distressed to see it become tied as my top question when I haven't in fact really sat down and read it :(

Kannappan Sampath

@Dylan Hi, Good day

Asaf Karagila

I wonder when I'll get to Guru for that, or for the Russell answer.

@anon There, now you have a bit of gaining from that top question. :-P

Hi @Dylan

anon

@Asaf Heh, thanks. :D

@Kanna: Oh, the F5 decomposition one?

Daniil

07:56

@AsafKaragila in the TV series?

@anon are you talking about Season 2?

anon

Yup, of the BBC. (You realize there are many TV series of SH?)

Daniil

Well, I assumed you were talking about the latest, with that cute guy, set in the modern London

Asaf Karagila

I haven't watched the series.

anon

It passes the time.

Matt N.

I think it's good.

@anon I mentioned that here right before it came out.

@AsafKaragila I thought your space invaders comment yesterday was great. I had to star it. Made me smile.

Asaf Karagila

08:11

You and three other people!

Daniil

It is witty

boolesrings.org/scoskey/how-not-to-teach-logic

anon

woah, jdh there in the comments

Daniil

Yeah, he's also an admin of cantorsattic.info/Cantor%27s_Attic

Asaf Karagila

08:38

There's a community of logicians in boolesrings.org and JDH is one of them.

Daniil

abstrusegoose.com/435

J G

Hello!

What type of maths do people study here?

anon

All of them!

J G

like.... ?

how about maths in other disciplines like physics?

anon

Hmm, not so much...

J G

08:45

BSc? PhD?

DPhil?

anon

Doctor Phil?

J G

professor? lecturers? students?

anon

Henning is in computer science.

J G

What is a Henning?

anon

Asaf is a student of some sort. I think Mariano's had some serious education...

this is a Henning: math.stackexchange.com/users/14366/henning-makholm

J G

08:47

Anon: what about you?

Asaf Karagila

Why does it matter?

anon

I have a high school diploma and some college credit...

J G

It doesn't matter.

I was just making conversation

Asaf Karagila

Then why ask?

J G

Just curious the level at which people are at.

Asaf Karagila

08:48

That is how you make conversation?

J G

I'm sorry if I offended you Asaf.

I'm not good at conversation :(

anon

Woohoo, I have exacty seven cubed answers!

J G

Does anybody study statistics?

Asaf Karagila

I'm not offended, just making conversation.

J G

I love statistics.

I used to like math competitions.

I'm sorry if I interrupted a good conversation :(

anon

08:52

I don't think anyone here is particular to stats. Math competitions were fun but not nearly as fun as real math.

J G

What is real math? You mean like analysis.

anon

That's one specific area.

Well, maybe not so specific...

Daniil

What does "cf." mean?

J G

i think it means example of references

Asaf Karagila

Confer. Go and see.

J G

08:58

or it means an approximate date

yeah confer. see the following referencces

ca. is date. circa

Asaf Karagila

Also "cofinality" in set theory.

J G

good one asaf!

high five

Daniil

Thanks @JG, @AsafKaragila

Kannappan Sampath

@anon Yes on that direct sum problem.

@anon Are you around so that we could fix that once and for all?

Asaf Karagila

Now it is time for me to split like a short exact sequence of free Abelian groups.

anon

09:08

sort of. I'm watching a show... (lol asaf)

but I'll do a cursory check if you want. have you made a revision to the still deleted answer?

Kannappan Sampath

@AsafKaragila Lo...Behold, Asaf Speaks Algebra. Voila!

Kannappan Sampath

09:51

@mk Do you know of a good reference for elementary ring Theory?

m. k.

10:08

@KannappanSampath: Herstein? No idea really.

Kannappan Sampath

No forget it!

@mk Not the kind I was searching for!

Dan Brumleve

10:33

haha different levels all around.

N3buchadnezzar

11:25

hi =)

Asaf Karagila

11:36

Perhaps this is a new uncountable infinity, $\aleph_{-1}$, smaller than $\aleph_0$? - reading this immediately strikes me as crackpottery.

Skullpatrol

12:54

@anon I would like to apologize for including you in this awkward moment. chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/36?m=3343870#3343870

anon

Maybe because I stayed up till 7am but I'm not sure I understand what you mean. That's a link to my comment, not yours...

Oh, moment, not comment. nvm

no it's cool

Kannappan Sampath

@anon Did you get my last few messages.

anon

@Kanna when? about what?

Kannappan Sampath

@anon About those $\mathbb F_q^5$

anon

I don't remember. You said something about a radical new approach but then left the topic alone and I don't remember the title of the question it was on.

Kannappan Sampath

13:00

@anon Yes, because I had to be away. It is about the number of complementary subspaces

anon

my brain is minutes from shutting down... what about it.

Kannappan Sampath

@anon I have found that the number of complementary subspaces for $W$ is in bijection as sets with $Hom (V/W,V)$

anon

is there an explicit bijection?

I'm not seeing it at the moment..

Zhen Lin

It's a natural bijection. :p

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin Yes it is! :)

@ZhenLin And, my mentor led me to it, rather than I! I felt bad after I learnt it!

Zhen Lin

13:10

But I don't think it's supposed to be the whole set Hom(V/W, V).

Kannappan Sampath

Yes it is $Hom(V/W, W)$

@Zhen Argh, I am sorry!

Zhen Lin

That's also unlikely. What does the zero map correspond to?

anon

that's what I was wondering!

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin ???

Zhen Lin

Put it this way: the set of all complementary subspaces is not naturally a vector space.

Kannappan Sampath

13:14

@ZhenLin Yes.

Zhen Lin

Hom(V/W, V) is.

Kannappan Sampath

But, they can be in bijection as sets!

Zhen Lin

Then it's not a natural bijection. :p

"natural" is a term of art.

anon

categorical term

Kannappan Sampath

Haha, but it is natural enough, atleast after I knew about it!

Zhen Lin

13:16

The problem of enumerating complementary subspaces amounts to enumerating split short exact sequences $0 \to U \to V \to W \to 0$.

anon

bah I'll think about this later. I have to sleep.

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin I have no idea about these sequences! (In groups, a bit!)

Zhen Lin

There is a natural bijection between the set of complementary subspaces of $W$ and linear maps $V \to V$ which are idempotent and annihilate $W$.

This is, of course, a subset of Hom(V / W, V). But it is a proper subset.

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin Yes, This is something that makes sense to me!

@ZhenLin And, I claim this subset is $Hom(V/W, W)$

Zhen Lin

Impossible.

Kannappan Sampath

13:22

@ZhenLin Why so?

Zhen Lin

If $\pi : V \to V$ annihilates $W$ and is idempotent, then $\operatorname{im} \pi \cap W = 0$.

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin Yes. I am lost though. What does this mean?

Zhen Lin

So how could a linear map $V / W \to W$ yield any useful information?

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin Let me rethink my bijection before I make any comment. Shall we talk about in a few hours?

Zhen Lin

Here's an explicit counterexample. Consider 3-dimensional space over $\mathbb{F}_2$. Any 1-dimensional subspace has 5 complementary subspaces.

5 is not a power of 2. So there is no chance of being a bijection with a vector space.

Kannappan Sampath

13:30

@ZhenLin This convinces me if the count is right. I counted that for a 2-d space, there are 4 complementary subspaces, before I concluded this was the formula

(In the same vector space)

Zhen Lin

Yes, that's correct. But there's no reason to expect the counts to be symmetric.

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin I think there are only four of them.Let's take an example

$\{0,100\}$

The complementary spaces are:

$\{0, 010, 001, 011\}$

Zhen Lin

Ah yes, I counted an extra one. Sorry.

Kannappan Sampath

$\{0,110, 101, 011\}$

Foool

Guys, I have a problem

A and B are friends. They decide to meet between 1 PM and 2PM on a given day. There is a condition that whoever arrives first will not wait for the others for more than 15 minutes. Find the probability that they will meet.

My calculation suggests that the answer is 1/4, is it correct?

Kannappan Sampath

13:36

@ZhenLin No issues!

Zhen Lin

But anyway, 2 is a bit too special. You should look at other primes before making a conjecture.

Kannappan Sampath

@Foool Main site is the best place please!

@ZhenLin True, For a finite field, I guess the count is $q^{k(n-k)}$

Zhen Lin

You guess? You said you had a bijection.

Kannappan Sampath

(I think so, after looking at $F_2$)

@ZhenLin The bijection I thought was looking at the map at identity. I am drawing blank now, but with some pain, I can get that thing.

Skullpatrol

@Foool What is your smallest interval of time? A minute or a second?

Foool

13:46

@Sullpatrol:a second.

Zhen Lin

Let $N(n, q) = (q^n - 1) \cdots (q^n - q^{n-1})$. Then the number of decompositions of $n$-dimensional space over $\mathbb{F}_q$ into a $r$-dimensional piece and a $(n-r)$-dimensional piece is $$\frac{N(n, q)}{N(r, q) N(n-r, q)}$$

Kannappan Sampath

For one $r$ dimensional subspace, you need to divide this by $N(r,q)$, right?

Zhen Lin

No, $N(r, q) / r!$.

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin Why? I don't quite understand.

Zhen Lin

$N(n, q)$ counts the number of ordered bases of $(\mathbb{F}_q)^n$.

Kannappan Sampath

13:52

@ZhenLin Is it not just the number of linearly independent $n$-sets in $F_q^n$

Zhen Lin

No, it is ordered.

And actually, sorry, you want to divide by $(q^n - 1) \cdots (q^n - q^{r - 1}) / r!$.

Kannappan Sampath

I am thoroughly confused!

:(

Skullpatrol

@Foool So if A arrives 1 second after B leaves, they do not meet. But if A arrives at the exact moment that B is leaving then they do meet?

Zhen Lin

It's a straightforward exercise in enumerative combinatorics... if one is being careful. (I haven't touched this in years.)

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin So, where should I learn this from, I am doing this as an Amateur does.

Foool

13:57

I got it

Zhen Lin

There are lots of places to learn enumerative combinatorics. Just search.

Hm, but I must have made a mistake somewhere because I am getting fractions in my answer...

Kannappan Sampath

Where did you learn these things from? @Zhen

Skullpatrol

@Foool Is 1/4 correct?

Zhen Lin

I don't remember. It was many, many years ago when I was still in school.

Kannappan Sampath

See the isomorphism, $W' \to V/W :: w \mapsto w+W$ for $w \in W'$

@ZhenLin I admire you! You learnt these structures when you were still in school?

Zhen Lin

14:02

No, I learned to count. :p

This is all just counting.

Kannappan Sampath

:)

So, we just need to count the number of isomorphisms from $W'$ to $V/W$

Zhen Lin

OK, now I think I have the right formula. Let $B(n, r, q) = (q^n - 1) \cdots (q^n - q^{r-1})$. Then the number of complementary subspaces to an $r$-dimensional subspace of $n$-dimensional space over $\mathbb{F}_q$ is $$\frac{B(n, n, q)}{B(n, r, q) B(n - r, n - r, q)}$$

Foool

it's 7/16

Kannappan Sampath

I'll need time to even see how was this arrived at? I'll talk to you later. Will you reply if I write an email?

@Zhen

Zhen Lin

I should probably get on with real work... I'll let you work this out on your own.

Kannappan Sampath

14:09

@ZhenLin Fine. I'll tell you if you're around some time later!

Zhen Lin

Oh, and it turns out that formula simplifies to $q^{r (n - r)}$ as you claimed.

I still maintain that the bijection isn't natural though.

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin How did you arrive at that Giant?

Zhen Lin

It's easy algebra to get from my formula to your formula: just expand and cancel.

Kannappan Sampath

@ZhenLin No, I am asking about that formula in $B$.

Zhen Lin

That's straightforward counting. $B(n, r, q)$ counts the number of ordered $r$-tuples of linearly independent vectors in $(\mathbb{F}_q)^n$.

Kannappan Sampath

14:19

Let me think! Thank You @Zhen

N3buchadnezzar

15:29

ahoy!

Nimza

16:01

Hello, is there a name for functions, homogeneous of order 0?

Jonas Teuwen

You mean $f(rx) = f(x)$?

Nimza

yeah)

I think "homogeneous of order 0" in not well-used

Zhen Lin

16:42

I call them constants.

Nimza

16:53

It's so brutal to call, say, a gradient of CES function a constant

Asaf Karagila

19:11

What the... why is there a Miami university in Oxford Ohio?!

Kannappan Sampath

@AsafKaragila All Glory to the Hypnotoad!

Asaf Karagila

Indeed.

user19161

20:00

@KannappanSampath What?

user19161

What has that got to do with Hypnotoad?

Kannappan Sampath

@JasperLoy Just joking, Jasper. Asaf is a kind of ..., and he believes in these things or so atleast he shows... :)

Should this and this be merged. I don't see the point of the same user posting two answers, merely containing links. When one is sufficient!

user19161

@KannappanSampath I guess the reason to merge would be to make things cleaner, and the reason not to merge would be to have one book per post. But since the latter is not really followed, we might as well merge everything from the same user.

Kannappan Sampath

@JasperLoy But how do we execute it? Jasper

user19161

@KannappanSampath In a particular case we can flag for mod attention or comment to the answer. Actually no big problem. I would just leave the whole thing alone and not worry about it.

Kannappan Sampath

20:16

@JasperLoy I'll keep my mouth shut as well. The answerer seems to be a expert in Surgery Theory. We'd love to have him around rather than drive him off! :)

user19161

@KannappanSampath Oh, I have not even done surgery on frogs in biology classes!

Kannappan Sampath

@JasperLoy :)

user19161

@KannappanSampath Anyway why is Bill Dubuque suspended again?

Kannappan Sampath

@JasperLoy He was allegedly involved in quarrel with Paul, another user over Paul's answer that was not rigorous!

But, it was not all badly flawed.

(The answer I mean)

Throwing in a few words would have done the deal

user19161

@KannappanSampath Well if it is a debate over an answer suspension seems serious.

Kannappan Sampath

20:24

@JasperLoy But, I think the patient needed it.

Asaf Karagila

20:37

@KannappanSampath It's just a Futurama joke.

Kannappan Sampath

@AsafKaragila I know this! And my reference to belief is your subscribing to believe these things. :)

Asaf Karagila

I don't really believe in that, or in anything else for that matter.

Kannappan Sampath

@AsafKaragila Alright there was also a clause that said, "he shows blah "

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$Mathematics$ Mathematics