One for Doctor Q: BBC Math Podcast

[Blue Velvet]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4176410.stm

It's a magic number...

[ham_man]

Mmmmmm...Math... :D

[Doctor Q]

The article includes a handy tip for cheating on your taxes. Perhaps that's incentive enough to read it.

[mad jew]

The article includes a handy tip for cheating on your taxes. Perhaps that's incentive enough to read it.


So when we cheat on our tax returns, are we meant to use numbers starting with one or not? :confused:

Meh, I'm too stupid to be dishonest. :(

[Doctor Q]

I think the point is that if you use real data, 30% of the numbers will start with 1. So if you fake your data, you should still have that percentage. If the percentage of numbers starting with 1 is closer to 10% instead of 30%, it can be a sign that you faked the data.

Oddly enough, if your real data has few numbers starting with 1, you would make them less suspicious by changing to fake data where the count is closer to 30%!

You said "I'm too stupid to be dishonest." If I tell you that's probably not the case, I hope you will take it as a compliment.

[mad jew]

I'm just playing Doctor Q, but thanks for the advice and the compliment. :D



...I think. :p :D

[wdlove]

Just the thing for the math geek. Math is fun for those that find numbers interesting. ;)

[Doctor Q]

I tested Benford's Law on MacRumors member numbers of all currently registered forum members. While digit 1 was indeed most common as the first digit of member numbers, it was nowhere near the 30% predicted by the law. Member numbers are assigned sequentially, so Benford's Law apparently doesn't apply to such data.

[scubabeano]

does anyone here know much about phi? (Phi= 1.618033988749895..).
Obviously i've come across this in The DaVinci Code, but it's all very interesting.

[Doctor Q]

does anyone here know much about phi? (Phi= 1.618033988749895..).
Obviously i've come across this in The DaVinci Code, but it's all very interesting.I do! Surprise, surprise.

Phi is a Greek letter, and like other Greek letters used for many purposes in mathematics and otherwise. One of those is as the symbol for the Golden Ratio, which is equal to ( squareroot(5) + 1 ) / 2 and also 2 cos(pi/5) and also the positive root of the quadratic equation x^2 - x - 1 = 0. It is irrational, and begins 1.61803398874989484820458683436563811772030917980576.

It has the name "Golden Ratio" because of the property that led to its discovery and interesting uses. If you divide a line segment into two segments, a longer segment named A and a shorter segment named B, such that the ratio of B to A is the same as the ratio of A to the whole line segment, then A/B will be the Golden Ratio.

Why is it mentioned in books outside of mathematics? Because the Golden Ratio, when used in architecture (imagine a window or building or other structure having sides of length A and B) is thought to be aesthetically pleasing and there are theories that the ancient Greeks, Leonardo Da Vinci, and others used the Golden Ratio in plans and drawings.

[gwuMACaddict]

lots of animals and things in nature abide by the golden rule principal also. shells, trees, etc.

[Doctor Q]

lots of animals and things in nature abide by the golden rule principal also. shells, trees, etc.Yes, there is a three-way link among the Golden Ratio, the Fibonacci numbers, and the patterns such as the positions of leaves on a plant stem. So Mother Nature was apparently using the Golden Ratio for construction work even before the ancient Greeks.

Since it's a math-themed thread, I get to post this cartoon I spotted yesterday, the "Brevity" strip by former Olympian Guy Endore-Kaiser and former Australian Rodd Perry.

[scubabeano]

Phi is a Greek letter, and like other Greek letters used for many purposes in mathematics and otherwise. One of those is as the symbol for the Golden Ratio, which is equal to ( squareroot(5) + 1 ) / 2 and also 2 cos(pi/5) and also the positive root of the quadratic equation x^2 - x - 1 = 0. It is irrational, and begins 1.61803398874989484820458683436563811772030917980576.


huh? :confused:

I don't understand the whys and whats, but it's pretty weird isn't it?
There's an amazing list of things that conform to phi on this site:
goldennumber.net (http://goldennumber.net/)

[Abstract]

How come so many equations work out to the Golden number? I can understand values working out to this number up to a few decimal places, but..... but...... :confused:

[camomac]

There's an amazing list of things that conform to phi on this site:
goldennumber.net (http://goldennumber.net/)

that site is amazing!
very, very interesting that everything in nature can be applied to mathmatics in one form or another.

[emw]

I tested Benford's Law on MacRumors member numbers of all currently registered forum members. While digit 1 was indeed most common as the first digit of member numbers, it was nowhere near the 30% predicted by the law. Member numbers are assigned sequentially, so Benford's Law apparently doesn't apply to such data.Ah, you need to do this calculation on the times of day (in 24-hour time) of all posts. :D

[Doctor Q]

Ah, you need to do this calculation on the times of day (in 24-hour time) of all posts. :DOr on baby skull dimensions!

[Doctor Q]

Ah, you need to do this calculation on the times of day (in 24-hour time) of all posts. :DOn second thought, here's a better test: the relative frequencies of the first digits of the numbers of views of the MacRumors threads that emw has started.

And look how it came out -- digit 1 has about 30%, as predicted by Benford's Law!

[emw]

On second thought, here's a better test: the relative frequencies of the first digits of the numbers of views of the MacRumors threads that emw has started.

And look how it came out -- digit 1 has about 30%, as predicted by Benford's Law!
Sure, make it personal! :eek: :D

[Doctor Q]

The schedule of broadcasts of this BBC show are as follows:Tue Aug 23 Programme 1: 1 – the most popular number!

Tue Aug 30 Programme 2: 2 - At the double.

Tue Sep 06 Programme 3: 6 degrees of separation

Tue Sep 13 Programme 4: 6.67 x 10^-11 – the number that defines the universe.

Tue Sep 20 Programme 5: 1729 – the first taxicab numberI hope they have more planned after that.

[superbovine]

I wonder if it is on BBCA... hmmm

i'll look for it later...

[ham_man]

I do! Surprise, surprise.

Phi is a Greek letter, and like other Greek letters used for many purposes in mathematics and otherwise. One of those is as the symbol for the Golden Ratio, which is equal to ( squareroot(5) + 1 ) / 2 and also 2 cos(pi/5) and also the positive root of the quadratic equation x^2 - x - 1 = 0. It is irrational, and begins 1.61803398874989484820458683436563811772030917980576.

It has the name "Golden Ratio" because of the property that led to its discovery and interesting uses. If you divide a line segment into two segments, a longer segment named A and a shorter segment named B, such that the ratio of B to A is the same as the ratio of A to the whole line segment, then A/B will be the Golden Ratio.

Why is it mentioned in books outside of mathematics? Because the Golden Ratio, when used in architecture (imagine a window or building or other structure having sides of length A and B) is thought to be aesthetically pleasing and there are theories that the ancient Greeks, Leonardo Da Vinci, and others used the Golden Ratio in plans and drawings.
We saw something about that as well. British program. Believe that Liz Hurley was the focus. Then we held up our celebrity faces to a "beautiful" Phi face chart, and they were all pretty much in line. Very interesting stuff...

[.:*Robot Boy*:.]

This is insanely geeky, but Bender's serial number isn't 1729 (that must be his production number, judging by the Xmas card he gets from his mother). His serial number is 2716057, which is expressible as the sum of two cubes.

Strangely enough, this is the least geeky post in this thread so far :p