h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

that sounds like the multiply by 0 thing, only with infinity instead of 0. i think.

yeah i can differentiate but i haven't needed to do it in a while so my memory is a bit rusty.

Well, its just messing about with numbers really. I had a mate look at it who said that I can't do that because im equating big infinity with small infity, or something like that. Not sure where the cut-off points for those are though.

Would you like a quick refresher on differentiation?

Not really thanks. In quite happy with the chain, quotient and product rules. Its more intergration that I need to make sure I know.

yeah i would as long as it is a quick one.

btw how did we get from the ultimate answer etc. to maths? i love conversations when thay go off on tangants (another maths thing!).

sorry, that was a bit random.

Okay, this should be easy.

To explain the little bit of derivation we need to know for this situation, here is an example. [For anyone who doesn't know, the symbol ^ is just another way to write "to the power of".]

y= 4x^3
To find the derivative of that, we follow a couple steps:

1. Bring down the exponent (it is, in this example, 3) and multiply it with any constant that happens to be multiplied by the x^3 term (here, the multiplier is 4). Thus we multiply the three with the four... We will not, however, discard the existence of the exponent. We now have y= 12x^3. Very simple.

2. Subtract one from the exponent. We have 12x^2. That is all there is to it... The derivative of 4x^3 is 12x^2.

************************************

Thus we can do the same to the original series of x's. X is really just x to the power of one. To take the derivative, we bring down the one (multiplying it with x)... and then subtract one from the exponent. Thus the derivative of x is 1(x^0). You may recall that anything to the power of zero is one. Thus the derivative is one. Remember that we have x of these ones, **giving us the value of x.**

The alternate method we took was to suppose that this x series of x's could be expressed as x(x), meaning x^2. Taking the derivative of x^2, **we have 2x**. 2x is thus equal to x. Divide each side by x and we get the fact that:

1=2

************************************

Did we want a refresher on integration as well?

Hold on.

If there are X number of x's, then its not x(x) and therefore x^2. The correct answer is x^x. If you differentiate this you get:

x(x^(x-1))

now x^(x-1) = (x^x) / (x^1)

= x^x / x

multiply by x:

= x^x

Therefore x^x differentiated it x^x

If you put this into your original example, then you get:

1 = x^x

If this is so then x must equal 1 (as 0^0 is NOT 1, whatever the silly rule says).

So you've in fact just proved that when x = 1, 1 = 1, which is true. Congratulations.

no i'm good, thanx.

i get what you are saying there, that if x=1 then x^2=1 as well so the derivative of that is 2x which equals 1,
so 2x=1
amd x=1

therefore (divide by x) 1=2.

if i am completely wrong then don't worry about it. if i have got it then woooooohooooo.

if there are x number of x's then it is x multiplied by x which is x^2,
just like if you have 2 2s then it is 2x2 which is 2^2.

so actually he got it right.

Oh! the series is an addition. Sorry, I thought it was a multiplication. Dont mind me..

It's all right! :D

Is there anything else mathematical we might want to talk about?

i've always wanted to know what standard deviation is cos it comes up in loads of past papers. my god i'm a ! (actually don't bother explaining cos i don't need it anyway, it's off the syllabus)

......

So...

Anyone seen the trailer for the Hitch-Hiker's movie?
(feel free to disregard this attempt to change the topic if you found the old one particularly interesting)

The standard deviation of a number gives the likely range around the mean, above and below that number. Yes, I ahve seen the trailer. Looks pretty damn good to me.

Andúril

yeah i thought so too. although it is supposed to be a different version to the one in the book. not sure which version of the story it is.
Marvin looks really weird too. he has a huge head.

DJ

I am 42

No! I'm sparticus!

ur the closeiest one yet ive seen to get it
realize that u live in a universe where ifinity is an unreal #
the only way to solve any p[roblem would be to define the characters
i.e 1+1=1 would be crazy unless defined as
1 mole +1 mole = 2 moles wheras moles refer to cute little friendly mammals
as far as the meaning yes the questions answers itself
am i crazy =yes i am
start with any calcualtion
0+1
what is 0 what is 1
without definition there can be no 0 or 1
we can only exist with defintion from another source
i.e god
i am not a preacher nor religious but merely a purest of science
if u start with the theory how did god start
god can only start by realizing himself
then subdividing into ihimself
our theorys of math are all based in the defined world
all science is based on definitions of past discoveries
well i ramble here i could forever our whole universe is filled with too many paradoxs so to be short figure it out 1+1=1

All this talk about formulas...it seems to me that while trying to find the solution to the problem in "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" by chance...with the scrabble cubes, the solution is given as What do you get if you multiply six by nine?" In all the time given to traveling the universe in search of a better solution, Ford and Arthur end up at the Club Stavro...(number 42) just in time for the Vogan Fleet to arrive...in "Mostly Harmless"...I think it has more of a philosophical formula than a mathematical one...

Ya think? That's the wrong question anyway because when Arthur and Ford landed on prehistoric earth in secondary phase/restaurant at the end of the universe they're interrupting the computer programme and therefore mess up the calculation. Which is why 6x9 doesn't equal 42.