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| Author |
Message |
nharmon
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Favorite number item
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Sep 21 19:51 UTC 2006 |
State your favorite number, and why it is your favorite number.
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| 22 responses total. |
nharmon
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response 1 of 22:
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Sep 21 19:52 UTC 2006 |
(Doesn't have to be integers, or even real numbers)
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rcurl
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response 2 of 22:
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Sep 21 20:46 UTC 2006 |
Perhaps one can apply an objective standard for a "favorite number". That
is, if asked to "pick a number", what number do you pick most often? Or
when setting combinations on locks (or passwords?), what number(s) do you
prefer? I can imagine these tendencies might differ for different
applications.
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nharmon
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response 3 of 22:
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Sep 22 03:35 UTC 2006 |
For heaven's sake.
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cmcgee
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response 4 of 22:
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Sep 22 12:21 UTC 2006 |
Nope, I'm letting God pick my favorte number!
(peers at belly button)
My favorite number is 42
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easlern
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response 5 of 22:
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Sep 22 18:03 UTC 2006 |
5
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nharmon
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response 6 of 22:
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Sep 22 19:17 UTC 2006 |
Okay.
My favorite number is Pi. Everyone knows what Pi is (or should) so I
don't need to describe it. I like it because it adds a little chaos to a
world that I think is a bit too convenient (e=mc^2 is pretty damn
convenient!)
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rcurl
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response 7 of 22:
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Sep 22 19:33 UTC 2006 |
Please describe it. Don't leave anything out.
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nharmon
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response 8 of 22:
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Sep 22 20:20 UTC 2006 |
Its the ratio of a cricle's circumference to its diameter. What else
would you like to know?
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rcurl
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response 9 of 22:
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Sep 22 22:22 UTC 2006 |
I was trying to make a joke on what does "is" mean, as in "Everyone knows
what Pi is", by asking you to enumerate it.
I don't think, though, that Pi adds any more "chaos" to the world than does
sqrt(2) and lots of other numbers, and not any if by "chaos" you mean
uncertainty, as Pi is completely deterministic.
Still, I agree Pi it is a PRETTY GOOD number.
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nharmon
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response 10 of 22:
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Sep 22 23:25 UTC 2006 |
Maybe "chaos" is the wrong word, maybe its isn't. I just think
it's "neat" that knowing the diameter of a circle you can't know the
exact circumference, and vice versa.
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rcurl
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response 11 of 22:
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Sep 23 07:07 UTC 2006 |
Maybe "irrational" applies?
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cmcgee
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response 12 of 22:
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Sep 23 15:40 UTC 2006 |
Nope, MINE is the most irrational number.
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nharmon
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response 13 of 22:
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Sep 23 15:46 UTC 2006 |
Speaking of irrational numbers, I posed the "favorite number" question
to Remmers. He said that his is (1+sqrt(5))/2, aka the Golden ratio.
Now, I had never heard of the Golden ratio before so I checked it's
Wikipedia article out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio) and it
made for a pretty interesting read.
I was hoping to hear about other interesting numbers (that I had never
heard about) in this item...not 42 and 5. :P But, if those are your
favorites then okay.
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cmcgee
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response 14 of 22:
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Sep 23 15:49 UTC 2006 |
Hey 42 is the meaning of life!!!
Haven't you read "Hitchhiker's Guide?
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nharmon
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response 15 of 22:
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Sep 23 15:52 UTC 2006 |
No, actually I have never read that book. Never been to Disney Land
either. :)
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rcurl
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response 16 of 22:
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Sep 23 19:37 UTC 2006 |
There are a plethora of "interesting" numbers. One way to divide them is into
those that are inherent in the universe, like Pi, and those that are of
historical interest to humans, like the Golden Ratio. One of the most
important of the former is e = 2.2.71828183.... (sorry, I don't have space
to write it out completely). x = e^(-t) is the solution to dx/dt = -x,
which is the general expression for the rate of decay of a quantity being
proportional to that quantity - and of course is many other contexts, such
as the base for Napierian logarithms.
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easlern
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response 17 of 22:
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Sep 25 19:15 UTC 2006 |
Okay, since 5 is not very impressive, I pick 0. It was one of the simplest
but historically elusive concepts in mathematics.
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rcurl
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response 18 of 22:
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Sep 25 19:18 UTC 2006 |
It' a nice round number, too.
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cyberpnk
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response 19 of 22:
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Sep 25 22:14 UTC 2006 |
5, because it's so Discordian.
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gull
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response 20 of 22:
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Oct 2 22:51 UTC 2006 |
65536.
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vivekm1234
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response 21 of 22:
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Feb 27 08:59 UTC 2007 |
Mine would be: i.
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cmcgee
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response 22 of 22:
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Feb 27 14:12 UTC 2007 |
#21 reminds me of an announcement at the halftime show when Rice played
football against Michigan.
"This show was brought to you by the letters R and C, and the numbers I and
E.
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