hutchphd's latest activity

A turkey will always take longer than expected to thaw. A turkey will always take longer than expected to cook. This is the way...

The thread title is the first part of the title of a paper published just today [1]. Here is the abstract: [1]...

The two versions of Monty Hall, in terms of calculation look like: Monty Hall (proper game) has three equally likely scenarios...

Indeed, it is fluff. You are missing the whole point of the problem because you are focused on which part of the fluff is fluffier...

@neilparker62 Yes, the law of cosines used twice with your diagram solves it. Very good. :)

In post 43 @Gavran cited it on his very last line in parentheses. It is so easy to overlook something like that though, because this...

Although I slighted @Gavran by not mentioning his attempt, I don't think anyone had called out Ptolemy's Theorem by name. How often do...

Yes indeed. Through laziness I did not really look at the attempt.......bad form on my part (apologies!)

@hutchphd Here is the solution: ## (ac)(bd)=2x^2+(11)(2) ## from Ptolemy ## (ac)^2=4x^2-2^2 ## from Pythagoras and Thales ##...

Please feel free. I have had an exhausting week and seem disinclined to do anything (feeling each of my 73 yrs I guess.....ah, well. I...

There is also a lovely theorem by Ptolemy that deals with cyclic quadrilaterals. I think that will work......not an intuitive result...

@EddiePhys Have you considered the study of pure mathematics, or maybe entering a monastery?

"...truth ... is much too complicated to allow anything but approximations..." - John von Neumann, 1947

Welcome to the "cult of the imperfect". Everything mechanical that is available, is only ever the third best. We are working on an...

Yes, always. There is usually a design code, that is a set of tables or simplified equations that will give reliable solutions...