Archived Here is your chance guys....TED Talk seeking 2018 speakers/topics (mailchi.mp)
submitted ago by Vvswiftvv17
Posted by: Vvswiftvv17
Posting time: 3.1 years ago on
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Archived on: 2/14/2018 10:00:00 AM
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3 upvotes, 1 downvotes (75% upvoted it)
Archived Here is your chance guys....TED Talk seeking 2018 speakers/topics (mailchi.mp)
submitted ago by Vvswiftvv17
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[–] TheBuddha 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
0.3 doesn't actually equal 1/3. We pretend it does, much for the same reason that 0.999... = 1.
Shit breaks if we don't.
Yet, every time I mention I'm a mathematician, I have to worry about people insisting it is some great truth and universal. It's not. It's just a language and a philosophy. It's an expressive, beautiful, and wonderful language but it doesn't necessarily tell the truth. I can lie with math just as easily as I could lie with English. Depending on your knowledge, you may not even be able to spot the deception.
I never dealt with absolutes. I dealt with approximations and good enough. I dealt with models that predicted reality on a 'close enough' scale. It's not certainties and we've somehow convinced people to believe its the apex of understanding. It's hubris!
They are absolutely not going to let me talk. I'm a heretic. Those crazy bastards will tell you to your face that an infinite repeating number of nines equals one. That's absurd. But it does, and I can prove it with math.
[–] Lurker22 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Loved reading this. Just got myself a job, to come back to this gem. That last part though "Those crazy bastards will tell you to your face taht an infinite repeating number of nines equals one. That's absurd. But it does, and I can prove it with math." hahahah. Dealing with approximations and good enough... on point. I wish I'd/will learn so much as yourself
[–] TheBuddha 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
It is never too late. Learning to learn is more important than the accumulation of knowledge.
Glad you liked it, by the way. I'm a heretic in the mathematical community. My research was in application of the Chaos Theory to modeling traffic, making predictions, and I was told that such was futile. It was actually rather effective and is why I'm retired today. Never accept someone telling you you're wrong unless they have lots of evidence to support their claim. Then, of course, be open to changing your views.
Note: I seldom say what people should do. I will say I think people should do that. It has been effective for me and it's the logical way to live life.