Do You Even Math Bro?

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TristramEvans

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Why do I keep thinking it's 9? Am I mis applying PEMDAS?
 
Maybe. It's been a long time but I thought it went Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction left to right. 3 would be divided by 3 leaving 1. Then -1+1 = 0 Then 9-0=9.

I shouldn't need coffee to do this.
 
Maybe. It's been a long time but I thought it went Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction left to right. 3 would be divided by 3 leaving 1. Then 1+1 = 2. Then 9-2=7.

Sorry should have been 7 I guess. I shouldn't need coffee to do this.

You've got the order right it's just the division by fraction that's off

3 divided by 1/3 is the same as 3 x 3/1
think of it like 3 *somethings* each divided by 3
 
You've got the order right it's just the division by fraction that's off

3 divided by 1/3 is the same as 3 x 3/1
think of it like 3 *somethings* each divided by 3
Yeah I see what I did wrong. I saw division but did multiplication.
 
I got -1 following PEMDAS.

P - None
E - None
M - None
D - 3 / (1/3) = 9
A - 9 + 1 = 10
S - 9 - 10 = -1
 
Multiplication/Division as well as Addition/Subtraction are same steps. So you do all multiplication/division left to right, then all addition/subtraction left to right.
 
Multiplication/Division as well as Addition/Subtraction are same steps. So you do all multiplication/division left to right, then all addition/subtraction left to right.
Oh, man. Then, I definitely fucked up haha
 
I got it, but I got a degree about 5 years ago, so my math skills are freshly sharpened. I actually hated math as a teenager, and I took the minimum to get my diploma. When I went back to school, I discovered that I now love it. Partly, it was seeing math problems as fun puzzles, but it was also the clean certainty of it. After decades in the real world, being presented with questions with absolute answers was a delight. I am pretty slow at math, but generally accurate.
 
I'm pretty terrible at higher math but my work as a manager responsible for creating and running budgets, submitting grant proposals, establishing endowments for donors, etc. really improved my day-to-day math skills.
 
Every now and then I have to brush off some maths to figure out how to do something. When I was doing my 3D star map renderer the other day I had to figure out enough linear algebra to calculate a line-plane intersection, which took most of an evening of google-fu and tinkering (hint: it intersects between the two points if the coefficient is between 0 and 1). I still don't understand the maths behind quarternonions, though, except apparently they can be used to do calculations for 3D transformations efficiently.

(sigh) I guess I just won't be working 15 hour days as a games programmer anytime soon.
Or a quantiative analyst, for that matter, but at least that pays well.
 
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I still don't understand the maths behind quarternonions, though, except apparently they can be used to do calculations for 3D transformations efficiently.
The unfortunate thing about quaternions is that they're often relegated to only appearing in abstract algebra texts, where as they could easily appear as an expansion/addition to the complex numbers in more regular books. Then again most books don't really explain what complex numbers are. A cool fact is that there was a time when people thought about writing all of physics with quaternions until relativity came along. There's a novel by Greg Egan concerning if this had actually worked.
 
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The unfortunate thing about quaternions is that they're often relegated to only appearing in abstract algebra texts, where as they could easily appear as an expansion/addition to the complex numbers in more regular books. Then again most books don't really explain what complex numbers are. A cool fact is that there was a time when people thought about writing all of physics with quaternions until relativity came along. There's a novel by Greg Egan concerning if this had actually worked.
Yes, from what I read, 3D graphics books tend to be a much better intro than maths texts. I did take complex numbers far enough to do fourier transforms at one point, which made my brain hurt until I really grasped what was going on with them.

Every now and then I think of doing some more maths, which is a bit weak, but usually some combination of life and sloth conspire to prevent this from happening. At one point I considered doing the actuarial exams, and perhaps I should, because actuaries spend half of their time being data monkeys anyway. Basically I could be paid nearly double what I am now to do the same thing badly.
 
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9 and I know an inkling of an idea what math is. That ain't it (said the guy whose education isn't in hard sciences).

....and of course I also saw :1/3 but instead multiplied by 1/3":grin:.

That sucks:shade:!
 
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I have a degree in math/economics, but I can't remember most of it. I find though, that I just have to take one of my math books from back then and start reading. So it's all in my head somewhere, just have to be refreshed.
Also many people think, that having a math degree somehow makes me good at doing calculations in my head. This as absolutely not true, in fact I suck at it.
In high school level math classes my fellow students, found it weird that I preferred to write 1/3 instead of 0,3333. I just found it easier to calculate that way.
 
I have a degree in math/economics, but I can't remember most of it. I find though, that I just have to take one of my math books from back then and start reading. So it's all in my head somewhere, just have to be refreshed.
Also many people think, that having a math degree somehow makes me good at doing calculations in my head. This as absolutely not true, in fact I suck at it.
In high school level math classes my fellow students, found it weird that I preferred to write 1/3 instead of 0,3333. I just found it easier to calculate that way.
I was great at mental arithmetic until I got a calculator in 1982. Then it went downhill quite rapidly.
 
In college I was decent at math. I studied chemical engineering which meant dealing with a lot of differential equations. Stopped doing much math after I took a different career path in 98. It's all atrophied.
 
I have a degree in math/economics, but I can't remember most of it. I find though, that I just have to take one of my math books from back then and start reading. So it's all in my head somewhere, just have to be refreshed.
I keep a copy of a textbook on math for technical careers around, which covers just about any mathematical application that I might need in daily life for when something completely escapes me. That happens more and more.
Also many people think, that having a math degree somehow makes me good at doing calculations in my head. This as absolutely not true, in fact I suck at it..
I'm definitely weak at doing math in my head. As I didn't get interested in math until later in life, it was too late to hardwire that in. At least I have expertise on when to use hyphens.
 
I keep a copy of a textbook on math for technical careers around, which covers just about any mathematical application that I might need in daily life for when something completely escapes me. That happens more and more.

I'm definitely weak at doing math in my head. As I didn't get interested in math until later in life, it was too late to hardwire that in. At least I have expertise on when to use hyphens.
The slow and deliberate mindset probably serves you better than the quick and confident mindset I had initially attacking this problem.
 
The unfortunate thing about quaternions is that they're often relegated to only appearing in abstract algebra texts, where as they could easily appear as an expansion/addition to the complex numbers in more regular books. Then again most books don't really explain what complex numbers are. A cool fact is that there was a time when people thought about writing all of physics with quaternions until relativity came along. There's a novel by Greg Egan concerning if this had actually worked.

I dig Egan, which book is that?
 
People in their 60s don't put up with bullshit like strangers calling them up and asking them to solve math problems
But think of the nostalgia factor.

“Wow, I remember being asked something like this in my 20’s. It was a real hot chick/dude/little furry creature from Alpha Centauri (insert appropriate response) asking the questions that I really wanted to go out with. I wonder what happened to them?”
 
I’d also like to know how many people in their 60’s could still do this sum correctly in the 2020’s!
Well, if we are going down that road, I'd like to see if these surveys from the '80s and today actually exist, and if so, what the methodology was in each.
 
I dig Egan, which book is that?
The Orthogonal Series. Starts with "The Clockwork Rocket".

Basically quaternions don't work because in real life time has a minus sign where space has a plus sign, where as quaternions assume all have a plus sign. Egan writes a novel set in such a world and it causes huge changes to physics. No maximum speed, emitting light creates energy so plants shine at night to make food, light of different colours travel at different speeds so most objects have a "rainbow trail". Also there can't be a big bang, the universe has to be eternal. So on for many things.

The story revolves around a world facing an impending apocalypse in such a totally different universe.
 
Oooh! :ooh: Again, again, again, :dice: now in Reverse Polish Notation! :clown:
 
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