Tie Guy Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Originally posted by Admiral What makes a book a classic? (I've asked english teachers, none could give me a good answer, most say they don't know). Someone once told me that a classic is a book that survives the test of time. So HA! If there's no other life in the universe, then why are there other planets and stars? They would serve absolutely no purpose. Why do we call shorts shorts when they are only one piece of clothing? Why do we call CD's compact disks when they are, in fact, larger than diskettes? Who the heck invented imaginary numbers? They serve absolutely no purpose. I mean, who was the first to say, "Those points on the graph don't exist, but i bet they're still there." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Odin Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Well, I read books that were some of the worst ever written and they are considered classics. I want to know who says this book is a classic and this isn't. Last time I looked LOTR isn't considered a classic (at least by English teachers), and that is older and has withstood the test of time. While some books written after LOTR are considered classics. ----------------------- Imaginary numbers are imaginary, so why is it that I can't imagine that my answer is the correct one? (my math teacher didn't like that when I pointed this out to them) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfmanNCSU Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Since we are answering the questions now... Imaginary numbers are just an easy way to factor (-1)^(1/2) so you can continue evaluations. (-1)^(1/2) is impossible to solve, but with factored with other imaginary numbers produce real results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tie Guy Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Originally posted by WolfmanNCSU Imaginary numbers are just an easy way to factor (-1)^(1/2) so you can continue evaluations. (-1)^(1/2) is impossible to solve, but with factored with other imaginary numbers produce real results. Exactly, the answer is not possible, the root does not exist. Why bother to make it up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Odin Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Imaginary numbers where invented by a scientist who couldn't get something to work. He invented them so what he was working on would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tie Guy Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Originally posted by Admiral Imaginary numbers where invented by a scientist who couldn't get something to work. He invented them so what he was working on would work. So basically they were invented as an excuse for failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boba Rhett Posted January 22, 2003 Author Share Posted January 22, 2003 Yeah if you want to look at it from an extremely presumptuous point of view. Which, of course, you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tie Guy Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Originally posted by Boba Rhett Yeah if you want to look at it from an extremely presumptuous point of view. Which, of course, you do. Well, yeah. I mean, what if i couldn't quite get something to work so i made up things so it did? People would laugh at me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havoc Stryphe Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Originally posted by Admiral Imaginary numbers where invented by a scientist who couldn't get something to work. He invented them so what he was working on would work. All I wanna know is where was this guy when I was in Calculus and Elementary Functions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boba Rhett Posted January 22, 2003 Author Share Posted January 22, 2003 "Imaginary numbers" is a bad name for them. It's not really correct, it's just that the name stuck. "Complex numbers" is a better way of saying it. It's not just a case of scientists saying something like, "I want a number greater than 5 but less than 2... I know! I'll call it i!". This all hurts my head still but it helps to think of complex numbers as pairs of reals. Engineers do actually have uses for, "imaginary numbers". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tie Guy Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Originally posted by Boba Rhett "Imaginary numbers" is a bad name for them. It's not really correct, it's just that the name stuck. "Complex numbers" is a better way of saying it. It's not just a case of scientists saying something like, "I want a number greater than 5 but less than 2... I know! I'll call it i!". A complex number is a combination of real and imaginary numbers, not the imaginary number itself. Its more like, "Hey, when i square 2 i get 4, but i want -4, so i'll just say that's i." And what exactly do engineers use them for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boba Rhett Posted January 22, 2003 Author Share Posted January 22, 2003 Like you said, It is a combination of both. Example: You'd say the square root of -4 is 2i. "I" alone is simply the sqrt of -1. Electrical engineers use them to solve differential equations. Relating functions to their rates of growth. Physicists also use them in questimating the location of particles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagobahn Eagle Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Why don't people point to their crotch when they have to pee? Clutching it with both hands and crossing your legs and whining does the job better. And as it's totally international, I've seen tourists do it My god, these things are just plain stupid Why is it called a "tugboat" if it mostly pushes? The ones I've seen tug as much as they push Why do we call them "buildings" if they've already been built? Ing means "product of/derived from", kind of like the slang-word "ie" or "ee". Build is, well, to build. Building means: "Product of building", or "the result of building", like "escapee" is the product of an escape . Why do we call them the FIRE department? Taste the word: Departments to deal with fire. Fire department. Why do we drive on a parkway, and park in a driveway? It's not called that because you park in it, it's called that because you drive out of it . Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp which no decent human being would eat? That setting is for other stuff that heats slower than bread . Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane? If he thinks it's alive and is rushing it to the hospital, I guess so. Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're Both dogs! Read a comic on this: A: Donald Duck is a bird. Yet he eats turkey on Christmas. B: Yeah... he does? Isn't that cannibalism? A: I think animals in Donald are intelligent only as long as they wear clothes. Otherwise, they're just animals or pets. B: So if Goofy was naked, he'd be Mickey's pet ()? A: I guess.. picture Mickey walking his tall/long black dog... B: And picking up his ****. Yeah.. Can blind people see their dreams? Unless they're born blind or don't remember seeing, they can. First person to eat x, y, and z. Well, in the old days they ate everything. I wouldn't consider him brave. Question is: Who's the sadist who looked at a lobster and went "I think this thing will taste better if I boil it alive" :hurl:... Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup? They are the only ones who benefit from alphabet soup, as it's mean to teach you to read. You don't gain anything from it (other than your hunger being killed) if you already can read . Here's a good one: Why isn't US medicine Left-oriented? Why discriminate the poor:(? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boba Rhett Posted January 22, 2003 Author Share Posted January 22, 2003 Thanks. We were all waiting for someone to come in and undermine the fun of this thread. Light and cheery! That's the way a fun thread like this needs to be kept please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tie Guy Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Originally posted by Dagobahn Eagle Ing means "product of/derived from", kind of like the slang-word "ie" or "ee". Build is, well, to build. Building means: "Product of building", or "the result of building", like "escapee" is the product of an escape . Here's a good one: Why isn't US medicine Left-oriented? Why discriminate the poor? If "ing" means "product of" and therefore buildings means "product of building", wouldn't that make it literally "product of the product of the product of etc...." because there is another "ing" in building? And i don't know why you're asking about the political policy of hospitals because hospitals/health care have ansolutely nothing to do with politics. They are businesses and if you can't pay then you don't get service. I mean, why do resorts discriminate against poor people by not allowing them to visit if they can't pay? Besides, there is medicare and medicade etc. to help poor people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivy Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 i often wonder those very things i'll tell you something interesting i found out the other day - Ever wondered the origin of a popular 4-lettered curse word? it came from the middle-ages when married couples would need permission from the king to reproduce, if granted the king would give them a plaque they had to hang on their door which said.. Fornication Under Consent of the King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eets Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Originally posted by Chase Windu You wanna say that to my shot gun, city boy? Are you trying to provoke my testicles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagobahn Eagle Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Thanks. We were all waiting for someone to come in and undermine the fun of this thread. Light and cheery! That's the way a fun thread like this needs to be kept please! I'm deeply sorry I interrupted your cheerful conversation on... real and imaginary numbers About health systems: PM me if you want to debate it. I just put it, as I consider All-public care to be the best. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the tube? If the Black Box survived the crash into the WTC at 9/11, why wasn't the whole plane made out of that stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Odin Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 This supposed to be a happy thread, mentioning 9/11 won't exaclty accomplish that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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