« first day (4298 days earlier)      last day (1018 days later) » 

00:28
two questions @TedShifrin : 1) I optimized the volume of the box in a sphere, but your question asked for the hemisphere. All my dimensions are $\frac{r}{\sqrt{3}}$. I know the hemisphere is half, but how do I capture the idea in the expression $x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = r^2$?
2) I'm working on your P set question that asks to show a point $a$ exists in the ball $B(\mathbf{0}, 1)$ with $\nabla f(a) = \mathbf{0}$. Based on $f: B(\mathbf{0}, \frac{5}{4}) \to \mathbb{R}$ is $\mathcal{C}^1$, $\nabla f(x) \cdot x > 0$ for all $x$ with $\|x\| = 1$.
I think I got the solution. In essence our function is continuous over the smaller ball contained in the larger ball. Now all the points of norm $1$ make this smaller ball a compact set, so I can invoke the maximum value theorem to claim an extremum exists. but I'm not sure how $\nabla f(x) \cdot x > 0$ fits into the conclusion.....
00:48
@dc3rd Your answer is wrong. So how is the function different for the hemisphere and the sphere? Your extremum on the closed ball doesn’t necessarily give vanishing gradient. Why?
I wrote a bunch of stuff, but I just have to figure out the equation for the hemisphere. Then that one will be fine...as for the second give me a sec
There is no different equation for the hemisphere. I mean the function to maximize is different.
it's not the volume of the box?
01:03
It is. So what’s the difference?
nobody has moved the opossum.
Munchkin will carry it.
unlikely. it's beginning to emit an aroma.
In your driveway?
no, this is like a block away, over a storm drain.
01:11
is the box assumed to be a cube, or something else?
No such info.
hm
i'll shut up
Rectangular parallelepiped.
yeah, i figured (once it wasn't a cube)
i wasn't convinced that 'parallelepiped' was a word in calc 2 in 1997, and i'm not going to be convinced now.
01:13
well with the shapes I made with my hands I chopped the "height" of my box in half. and that kept it in a hemisphere.
I can’t help it you’re an ignoramus!
how about it's a gaussian surface that encloses what we want it to enclose, but whose surface is limited only by our imagination.
imaaaaagination
@dc3rd did you prove that’s optimal?
but I was automatically assuming a cube. So if it isn't a cube then I would need two of the dimensions to be chopped in half
01:15
I’ll just mumble huh.
Sounds like you should practice some calculus/algebra.
@TedShifrin no not yet. Just was toying with the idea.
do you need calculus to prove how the hemisphere problem and the sphere problem are related? i feel like you could just reason it out
You can, indeed.
But dc needs practice.
fair enough
once you say what the new objective function is, it's obvious...but you gotta say it
There’s a purely conceptual argument, yes.
01:24
on an entirely different note...i have successfully gotten through the easy parts of the final exam grading
so that's...something
Mazltov! I celebrate 7 years free therefrom!
how wonderful for you
Well, there were 37 years or so preceding ….
Including grading homeworks weekly …
i've been free longer than that! and did it less!
and while i did it, i did it poorly!!!
thumbs up emojis
I can’t argue.
Munchkin is the acorn that didn’t fall far from the sappy tree.
I’m very unfond of lawyers these days.
01:32
what'd i do?
Not you.
This time.
i can't fix america.
01:51
Why not?
not enough investors in lesliecoin.
@TedShifrin WHich portion of calc/algebra should I go review? cause clearly there is a gap there for something which is most likely obvious and I will eat a shoe over after reviewing the said material...
No, I didn’t say that. Just set up the function correctly on the domain and maximize.
@Koro morning
I can't solve it at a glance and apparently it came from ted so you can ask him for help :D
@TedShifrin when you get back can you tell me if $\lim_{a\to \infty} \int_0^1 a^x x^a\, dx=0$ and if I can do it without fubini
02:49
@CalvinKhor Why are you asking me?
because it apparently came from you? though dont feel obliged
Exam is over. Yay 😁
Absolutely not!
oh :D sorry then!
misread the old chats
Yup. I don’t see any obvious Fubini or anything.
02:52
well maybe theres a more straightforward way but I expanded a^x into a series then switched that with the integral
Yuck. Still, where’s Fubini?
fubini-tonelli for counting measure and lebesgue measure
i.e. sum and integral interchange
I don’t call that Fubini. oK
Does integration by parts go anywhere?
haha sorry again :) what do you call it?
i didnt attempt that
Interchanging … either with uniform convergence or with MCT or something.
02:56
sure ok. thats probably more faithful to how its proved
Look at integration by parts.
roger wilco
@CalvinKhor morning. How’d you know it was morning though at my place ? :D
@Koro I guessed! and also its just morning here
somehow i managed to rope ted into giving you a hint
he says integration by parts
Grrr ….
03:10
I tried that already but the parts didn’t become simple enough :(
I disagree.
I’ll try again.
Which $u$ and $v’$?
I took $u= a^x$.
v’= x^a
Ah. Your mistake.
Always try both!
You’ll see why the other is the smart choice.
03:13
Ok. I’ll do that. But what does this have to do with the comment on point wise convergence you mentioned earlier?
Absolutely nothing. This is Calvin’s fault. But actually I may be wrong on thid.
\whistle
Godd Evening.
I think integration by parts fails both ways.
I think it works for integer a but it’s delicate
You keep doing it until you can explicitly integrate, you end up with a series and then you have to estimate that
03:24
$\forall \epsilon>0$ $\exists \delta >0$ such that if $0<|x-a|<\delta$ then $|f(x)-L|<\epsilon$

I have been thinking for a while if my reasoning is correct or not.

$\forall \epsilon>0$ $\exists \delta >0$ such that $0<|x-a|<\delta$ whenever $|f(x)-L|<\epsilon$

I have been thinking what will happen if I reverse the implication here. So one counter example I came up with is $\sin(x)$. I think reverse implication definition implies that as epsilon gets smaller and smaller then there will be a lot of points it intersect that will get smaller and smaller I mean deltas. Which doesn't work. So
@TedShifrin yes.
Intuitively speaking, if $u= x^a, v'= a^x$ then I'll have a term of the form $a/log a$ somewhere and that does not $\to 0$ as $a\to \infty$.
Using series, I get $x^a a^x=x^a (1+\sum_{i=1}^\infty \frac {(x\log a)^i}{i!})$. And integrating both sides from 0 to 1, I get: the integral $I(a)=1/(a+1)+\sum_{i=1}^\infty \frac{1}{(a+i+1)i!}(\log a)^i$
03:49
.......OK my taylor series method did not actually show it goes to 0
im now starting to suspect the answer isn't 0
I don't know how to find the limit of the term involving sigma.
....
desmos plot suggests the answer is 1.
1 is an easy upper bound by replacing a^x with a
@WilliamJohn Try a constant function!
@TedShifrin Yeah I think same idea
Nah even better.
04:05
@CalvinKhor 1 is an upper bound. $\int_0^1 x^a a^x \le a \int_0^1 x^a$
and RHS is a/(a+1)<1.
yes
ok
the plan of attack is to follow the proof of an approximate identity
using the series, you can show that for any c<1, the integral from 0 to c goes to 0
then you need to show that the integral from c to 1 tends to 1. for this i think you can add and subtract something nice, maybe (a+1)x^a because this integrates to 1
but i dont have time to check this, gtg!
so why is the opossum sleeping like that?
What's wrong?
$$\lim_{x\to 0} \left(\dfrac{x+x^2}{x^2}-\dfrac{e^x-1}{x^2}\right)\\
\lim_{x\to 0}\dfrac{1+x}{x} -\lim_{x\to 0}\frac1x \lim_{x\to 0} \dfrac{e^x-1}{x}\\\lim_{x\to 0}\dfrac{1+x}{x}-\dfrac1x\\\lim_{x\to 0} \dfrac{x}x=1 $$
@leslietownes Waiting for munchkin.
Huh? @Wolgwang you can’t sum limits that don’t exist
Line 2 is garbage
ted once again announces himself as a prisoner of reality.
04:18
@leslietownes re possum?
no, as the opposing voice re summing limits that don't exist.
we have yet to crack the code of why the opossum is sleeping like that
Who killed it in the second place?
I love the constant function idea.
it may have died a natural death. it looks like it may have just keeled over. the location does not suggest a vehicle was responsible.
Poison?
04:25
could be.
i'd hope nobody's doing that around here. lots of predatory birds and scavengers.
Did not do well in my functional analysis final.
(Just did it today)
On the flip side, I think I did well on my Galois theory final
I missed a few days is all… gonna probably try to re-learn it via self study at some point
Blame leslie for functional analysis!
you're a student?
DogAteMy has been a student forever!
gosh, shouldn't you be done by now?
04:33
He was doing serious stuff in high school….
clearly not serious enough, if he's still taking exams.
i had one of my favorite kinds of meetings today. five people on two continents waiting for the organizer to arrive, and giving up after 10 minutes.
@TedShifrin dc3rd has entered the chat as a "forever" student........😥
i was a forever student for a long time. my last graduation was at 34. i tell my wife that med school is next
dc3rd: have you thought about medical school?
yeah with a JD after a PhD in math...I'm only on the Bachelors.........and I have the "ambition" to do a masters.....ha....can't even frame an objective function right......pardon this decending into projection....
What’s a JD?
04:40
Orthogonal projection?
@leslietownes I'm 22, I'm a first semester junior (I took off a semester so I'm off-schedule)
my people are very eclectic with education. my dad got an M Ed. on the gi bill, my mom had no college. my sister has 'some college' but not the degree. my best friend has almost every associates degree you can get. anything capable of being conferred online, she has. and a BA in womens studies.
akiva: that's why, then. you slacked off. i hope that semester was worth it
Strongly considering leaving the cycle of postdocs. Not sure what to go into tho
calvin: get a JD
@leslietownes It really wasn't, but it was COVID, so school would've been less worth it
04:42
too busy partying with your coronaviruses
Still gotta write an essay about Japanese composer Akira Ifukube
which is due tomorrow night
and then the semester is done
@leslietownes Is that a law degree?
yes
akiva: is that a real obligation? i remember my non-major stuff being kind of pro forma. but it was a state school.
@Koro I think I can prove the method I outlined works, tell me if you want details
Less important but I still don't want the ding on my GPA
@leslietownes i'll need to look into it...some sort of retraining for maybe a year should be possible
04:51
the only condition of doing it is that you have to haunt the chat with legal tips
is it better than going into software and helping grandma surf the facebooks?
for one, you don't have to talk to grandma
ouch lol
04:58
@CalvinKhor I'll try with that.
:)
0 to c, where c will be chosen to take advantage of continuity of the integrand at 1
@Koro probably easier to add and subtract a x^n
well c will be chosen so that the integral from c to 1 is < epsilon, for an arbitrary epsilon
its kinda messy if you havent seen it before
once you choose such a c<1, the integral from 0 to c will go to zero
so the order in which you make the choices matter
@CalvinKhor yes, that's what I meant. I'll elaborate: f is continuous at 1, so given any $\epsilon\gt 0$, there is a c such that $|f(x)-f(1)|<\epsilon$ for all x in (c,1).
so I'll need to add and subtract f(1), where f is integrand.
f being a^x? I thought of abstracting an argument out but this f is a two-variable function
f(x)=a^x x^a
i suspect subtracting f(1) = a isn't enough, but you can try
oh, the issue with adding and subtracting f(1)=a is that a is going to infinity
05:04
arghh
I can't find a similar problem with approach0
isn't that a paid website now?
oh wait... search on math has launched its subscriptions.
what?? lol
how are they going to compete with free approach0.xyz
it can be seen here that results which have over certain similarity to the query then that will be under the purview of the subscription.
$$ I(a) = \int_0^1 a^x x^a dx= \int_0^{1-\epsilon} a^xx^a dx + \frac a{a+1} + \int_{1-\epsilon}^1 (a^x-a^1)x^adx$$
$$\int_{1-\epsilon}^1 (a^x-a^1)x^adx \le \int_{1-\epsilon}^1 \left|\frac{a^x-a^1}{x-1} \right| |x-1| dx \le a(\log a) \epsilon $$
05:09
i also have some results within the purview of the subscription, feel free to buy lesliecoin for more
Let $\delta>0$ be arbitrary and now if you take $\epsilon<\delta/(a\log a)$ this integral is at most $\delta$
the remaining terms are small by taking $a\gg 1$
Huh? $a\log a$ is yuge!
its times'd by epsilon which i get to choose
be very careful.
i'm secretly showing that this is a collection of good kernels or smth, the order of choosing the parameters is indeed important
there may be a bug...i'll get to typing the rest of it properly
05:19
while writing mathjax, \le is rendering letter d.
what's wrong?
while collecting hints of Calvin, I saw this error (\le printing letter d in the last line)
$$\int_0^{1-\epsilon} a^x x^a dx = \int_0^{1-\epsilon} \sum_{k\ge0} \frac{(\log a)^k} {k!} x^{k+a} dx = \sum_{k\ge0} \frac{(\log a)^k} {k!(k+a+1)} (1-\epsilon)^{k+a+1} $$
which is controlled by
$$ (1-\epsilon)^{a+1}\frac1{a+1}\sum_{k\ge0} \frac{((1-\epsilon) \log a)^k}{k!} = (1-\epsilon)^{a+1 } \frac{a^{1-\epsilon}}{a+1} $$
OK..... i am seeing an issue.
@Koro idk, try refreshing?
or use a different page. guess there is a \renewcommand{\le}{d} somewhere on that page.
Or install latex
ah, the earlier decomposition is not quite right
ok let me come back when ive worked it out properly lmao
sry
05:46
@CalvinKhor it works fine now. Refreshing can do wonders sometimes :).
good to know. but im back to the drawing board :(
06:12
i had beef head for dinner.
good night
 
2 hours later…
07:43
@Semiclassical Thanks. I read that Benford's law is not reliable at some point. For context, check the current state of the Philippine elections. Thanks!
08:00
Does the following graph modification have an established name in graph theory?

Consider two edges in some graph G={V,E}, say {u,v} and {v,w} in E. Delete {u,v} and {v,w} from E and add a new edge {u,w} to E. The vertex set is left unmodified.
 
3 hours later…
10:36
0
Q: Error in equation 2.1. in Ray Tracing Volume Densities

user8469759I am reading through Kajiya - Ray Tracing Volume Densities paper. And I've already got stuck into section 2. I wonder if there's a mistake in that equation. I'll quote the relevant bit The quantity to be calculated in a scattering problem is the energy per unit solid angle per unit area $$ dE = ...

As I think is also a math question
11:15
I wonder why in Braid Groups, knotted stings are not allowed...
 
2 hours later…
12:56
Why do we use both the inf(U(f,P)) and sup(L(f,P)) for the riemann integral? Can't we user just the inf(U(f,P)) or just the sup(L(f,P))?
13:24
@CalvinKhor I have evaluated the limit of the integral, but I don't want to spoil your fun. I am walking the dog. If you wish, I can post it when I get back.
13:36
@robjohn what devil came up with that integral! Haven't thought about it much more since. I might give up eventually but you can share it with koro first (presumably its not a one-liner so i won't understand it without effort anyway)
...if it is a one-liner put me out of my misery
14:12
If I had seen the relationship between x and f(x), I wouldn't have asked the stupid limit definition question smh
14:49
@XanderHenderson Catenaries are fun. I wrote a catenary-related HNQ answer a few years ago. physics.stackexchange.com/a/421965/123208 And a few years before that I learned how to make a catenary of given length and endpoints. news.povray.org/povray.binaries.images/message/…
@robjohn There's a fast algorithm for calculating arcsin. It's one of a family of algorithms for inverse circular & hyperbolic functions, and the natural logarithm. They use a modified AGM with Richardson extrapolation. Carlson (1972). An Algorithm for Computing Logarithms and Arctangents doi.org/10.1090/S0025-5718-1972-0307438-2
I guess those algos aren't great for hand calculation, due to the square roots. OTOH, you don't need many square roots to get good precision, and most of the operations are just simple additions & subtractions, and bit shifting, with a few multiplications and one long division at the final step. I just used it to calculate pi to 10 decimals (using a calculator). I only needed 5 square roots.
15:17
What is the difference between baby Rudin and Big Rudin?
I'm almost done with SPivak's calculus and my dad recommends going to Rudin next, but I don't know which one...
My sister thinks I should do Apostal first, then Rudin.
Which is the better route?
And then which Rudin should I use.
?
@Ajay You are almost Done with Spivak Calculus? That is so amazing :D
Ok to be perfectoly honest, it was like my dad and sister tutoring me 90% of the time coz I didn't know shit
But yeah
I skipped a few chapters like the one on inf and sup and the one on how e is trancendental
Still that is cool =)
And it took me 4 years, even with the help.
15:25
ajay: 'big' rudin does both real and complex analysis. that's the difference.
it's not a very good book. i don't think anyone would use it, if it weren't for the fame of little rudin.
little rudin is also not very good after chapter 8 or so.
it's very good up to that point, for the right kind of student.
so baby rudin it is
so apostal?....
yeah, that would be my guess.
What about abbott?
Understanding analysis? I have the book but never read much from it.
at some point you'll look at so many other analysis books, there's no reason to look at rudin. :D
15:27
Coz I mean, now it doesn't make much sense to do Abbott after having almost finished Spivak...So i will do baby rudin, then apostal and see whatever is out there.
what a family of nerds, with everyone having an opinion on what book to read next.
i would skip the stuff in rudin ch. 1 about constructing the reals as dedekind cuts. it's never used again.
leslie: wait till you meet my mom...
someday my daughter might have this problem.
@leslietownes Has anyone ever done a comprehensive review of all of the popular analysis textbooks?
prithu: not that i know of. it would be a difficult project, because they have overlapping but non-identical audiences.
15:30
leslie: If my child ever started to throw tantrums like my parents over this stuff, i'll just hand over the kid to my wife and say "That's a you problem. Goodnight."
I lack patience
hah. i thought i would be that way, but it turns out that i am the one to handle tantrums.
@leslietownes I guess that is the fun, the young math explorer (like me) gets to choose his/her own path to enlightenment.
yeah, these are my delusional daydreams I use to conquer exam stress. I think i'm losing it...
prithu: yeah. i think sometimes people get sort of paralyzed by the number of choices. it can be harder to find the 'right' book than it can be to read a good-but-not-great book.
Well goodnight. See ya guys again tmr, probably...
15:35
cheers
@leslietownes have you ever read the funny review of baby rudin on amazon?
no. what is it? let me guess: someone who thought it was a calculus book, or even simpler than that?
wow, that's a wall of text.
15:40
I saw a video in which a leopard showed up in front of a dog and the dog got scared and started running away. Now the question is: why did the dog feel the danger? The dog shouldn't have felt the danger as it had never seen a leopard before.
pretty funny. i disagree with some of it. i hate the idea that it's some kind of acid test for whether you are a mathematician or not. and all the implicit praise in 'it's not a book that holds your hand, but it's good for you.' rudin's style is occasionally impenetrable.
it's like when people say a work of literary fiction is good because they can't easily read it, and they think good means difficult.
i would have criticized chapters 9+ more harshly than the reviewer, but they got it. we agree there.
akiva: are we still on that? it was a cool problem, just: still on it?
I just like pictures
Doodling
Ignore me
I have a nooby question to ask:
3 hours ago, by Prithu biswas leftmse
Why do we use both the inf(U(f,P)) and sup(L(f,P)) for the riemann integral? Can't we user just the inf(U(f,P)) or just the sup(L(f,P))?
My teacher gave this definition of greatest common divisor: "Let $a,b \in \mathbb{Z}$ not both zero. Then $d \in \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 1}$ such that (i) $d|a$ and $d|b$; (ii) for each $d \in \mathbb{Z}$ such that $d'|a$ and $d'|b$, $d'|d$; is called greatest common divisor of $a$ and $b$."
My question is: is (ii) equivalent to say $[(d' \in \mathbb{Z}) \wedge (d'|a \wedge d'|b)] \implies d'|d$?
prithu: try something like the indicator function of the rationals. requiring the inf and sup to be the same rules out this kind of thing.
sono: yes
15:57
@leslietownes Yeah, in that case inf ≠ sup.
prithu: this isn't directly evident from the darboux definition of riemann integrability, but one thing you want of the riemann integral is that the limit of any family of riemann sums to be the same across any family of partitions whose maximum interval size goes to 0. that will break if you don't require that condition.
e.g. choosing rationals vs. irrationals inside the points of your partitions should not ultimately affect the limiting value.
16:11
Mostly … who cares about Riemann sums? I prefer Darboux for sure.
i dunno, a lot of methods of approximate integration don't directly reflect the darboux definition. i would rather teach the darboux definition. and i would not prove that the darboux definition is equivalent to the riemann definition in class. i think it's a good fact to know, however.
Thanks leslie!
so you can use it to evaluate series. "this is a family of riemann sums corresponding to partition [ ] of interval [ ] so the limit is [ ]." comes in handy.
work is so boring today. i hate when i get stuff i have to respond to before 8am.
In the Spivak course I needed Riemann to justify things like cylindrical shells, so at that point I did a few minutes and proved the equivalence. And for standard calculus classes, I have never messed with Darboux.
16:23
What's the difference? Is Darboux max/min while Riemann is left/right?
darboux takes the point realizing the inf or sup in every subinterval. riemann allows arbitrary choices.
that's the key, for approximate integration. entirely arbitrary choices.
you get the same dumb broken integral in the end, so i don't know why it matters. i am a nihilist. i believe in nothing.
apparently if you have amazon combine multiple shipments into one, it not only increases the shipping time, but increases the likelihood of your package being stolen. i'm at three packages in a row now where i've chosen that option and it vanishes off of a truck before delivery.
i'm never choosing that option again.
and yes, i would like my AA batteries shipped to me in their own cardboard box, with insulation to make sure they aren't damaged.
16:42
Each battery in its own package?
of course. if not, i'll return it.
In terms of pedagogy, I decided years ago not to do $\sup\{L(f,P)}$ versus $\inf\{U(f,P)\}$. The definition I gave (and used in my multivariable book) is that there should be a unique number $I$ satisfying $L(f,P)\le I\le U(f,P)$ for all $P$. I think students process that more easily, and it leads immediately to the "convenient criterion" anyhow.
17:23
@CalvinKhor It's not a one-liner, so I will leave you in your misery. ;-)
@Koro: did you want to see the solution, or keep trying?
I keep talking to ghosts.
robjohn, i'm here. tell me about life during the time of unleaded gasoline
did you mean leaded gasoline? we have unleaded now
oops, yes
dammit
ethyl
that was going so good
17:28
going so well?
I can be a real pain.
i deliberately do those to annoy you and ted
they stopped teaching grammar in 1980
it works good
“Those”?
ouch, that hurts to read
ethyl and Lucy?
17:30
hahahaha
ted took that in a very funny direction. i am outplayed. checkmate.
@TedShifrin Ricky and Fred?
And don’t forget Bob and Carol and TED and Alice!
someone wrote lucille ball when they were doing a fundraiser at my middle school and she wrote back and donated money.
i may have dated myself there, but rest assured i am not a fossil like ted or robjohn
you're only petrified, not fossilized?
yes
which reminds me, i need to scout out if the opossum has been removed yet
my daughter woke up at 9:30pm last night, came out to my office and said "we can't go on a walk tomorrow if the opossum is still there"
17:37
you have an opposum nearby? We had one in a flower pot outside our apartment in West LA.
we have an ex-opossum nearby.
bereft of life, he rests in peace
You could alter your walking route!
believe it or not, i offered this option yesterday, and my daughter elected to walk back past the dessicating opossum
Tell her the city has blocked that sidewalk for now.
i don't know why the homeowner hasn't had it removed. it's right outside their front door.
17:50
@leslietownes joined the choir invisible?
rob: on second thought, he might just be pining for the fjords
pushing up the daisies
it wouldn't voom if you put 50000 volts through it
my mother introduced me to monty python. i should have thanked her for that on mothers day.
Tell her you’ve come for an argument,
our library had vhs cassettes of all of the classic stuff. she got it for me when i was sick and staying home from school.
the argument sketch is one of the all time classics.
18:05
I saw this in college …
you saw it in the original theatrical release. the 'talkies' were all the rage!
And Charlie Chaplin, too. The great cult film was Harold and Maude.
our library had that one, too. and a lot of laurel & hardy.
H&M made use of bay area settings that were familiar to me.
I’ve forgotten.
Someone just mentioned waffle … another damn word game.
there are some scenes around fort mason, i think, or maybe elsewhere in the presidio. and in what used to be a sculpture garden in the east bay before you go over to the bay bridge.
i've not heard of waffle.
ted: does getting older ever get more fun? i'm in a text chain with my best friend about a biopsy. i hate this.
18:24
Just be more selective with your friends?
that would work wonders. younger friends only. you now have to be under 40.
And lovers under 25.
19:16
a small opossum got stuck in a rat trap in the garage a few nights ago at 2am. after a fashion i managed to release it, but when closing the garage door it came off the rollers and it took another hour just to close the door. no fun. anyway, the garage guy just left so we're good again.
Possums get blamed for everything!
19:39
they need to be better at not getting stuck in stuff.
20:05
We invaded their world; the same with deer, foxes, etc.
 
3 hours later…
22:42
quick question: how do you calculate total tax on an invoice?
Is it (tax1 + tax2 + tax3)*sum OR (tax1 + tax2*tax1 + tax3*tax2*tax1)*sum?
The reasoning behind the latter is you're taxing the previously taxed amount.
@Nick It depends on how the tax is assessed, but I would presume that one pays tax only on the taxable purchase price, which should not include other taxes.
For example, in the US, you might have both state and local sales taxes. So if you buy a \$1 candy bar, and there are 8% state taxes and 1.5% local taxes, the total cost of the candy bar is \$1.095 (which rounds down to \$1.09), i.e. $\$1(0.09 + 0.015)$.
However, I believe that VAT works a little differently, in that every time a good is sold along the way, a VAT is paid, so the tax on raw materials gets passed along in the purchase price to the factory which makes a finished good, and so on.
23:23
So I was made to suffer because I didn't frame / orient the dimensions of box correctly....that was mean.... 😥
@XanderHenderson ok, agreed that the local won't apply over the state. To wrap my head around the other one, when you say "[VAT is] passed along", is it like there is a tax on the raw material which is paid in parts by checkpoints within the supply chain until the remainder is picked up the retail client. Is that close to reality?
I believe that is close to reality, but I don't live in a place with a VAT, so I don't really know.
23:49
@dc3rd huh? Setting up applications problems correctly, and modeling in general, is arguably the most important part of non-theory mathematics.
I don't think there could be an argument against it honestly. Because if the problem is not set up right with the right language and ideas, then you can't use the bevy of "tools" one has learned....I was taken by a moment of passion. Now I'm working on finding the existence of the vanishing gradient at the point $a$.

« first day (4298 days earlier)      last day (1018 days later) »